


Blue Echo

by RenaWolf



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Lance (Voltron), Cain & Lance Friendship, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Homesick Hunk (Voltron), Homesick Lance (Voltron), Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, I love Cain, Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron)-centric, Lance Family Feels, Original Character(s), Past AU, Sniper Lance (Voltron), Soldier Lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2019-08-04 20:44:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16353983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RenaWolf/pseuds/RenaWolf
Summary: Lance had a secret. One never would have suspected, not even Hunk. In the Garrison, he was just Lance, goofy, innocent, flirty Lance McClain. He thought he could keep it a secret, hide it away and finally forget about that side of his life.But after finally a mechanical, sentient Blue Lion into a wormhole and joined a giant 10,000 intergalactic war, he wasn't so sure anymore.So he figured out two outcomes: The truth eventually comes out or your past decides to haunt you.For Lance, it would always turn out to be both.Or where Lance is a secretly BAMF lord with a past no one expected. That is until a certain someone brings it to light.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So about a year I had this crazy idea for this story while I was writing my other fanfic called 'Drifting' but after months of pondering I just kinda said screw it and wrote this. I honestly don't know whether i'm going to continue this since its not exactly planned out but hey if any of you like it, then I wouldn't mind continuing it out XD
> 
> Anyways enjoy!!

_ “See that Lance?” he turned to the voice beside him, a man leaning against the hood of the jeep, calm and relaxed and watched as he points up to the sky, his fingers delicately tracing over the open starry night sky “That there is the constellation Cepheus. It was named after the mythical King Cepheus of Aethiopia, husband of Cassiopeia and father of Andromeda, both represented by neighboring constellations. Do you know what family of constellations it’s from?” _ __  
  


_ “The Perseus family right” he beams. The man smiles, his icy blue eyes shining as he does so. He nods, his grin widening, “That’s right. Along with Andromeda, Auriga, Cetus-” _

 

_ “And Pegasus!” he yells, drawing the man attention back on him again, black raven strands of hair rustles slightly through the cold night breeze. He hears the man chuckle, shaking his head slightly in amusement. “And Pegasus. Of course a few others too. It has a family almost as big as yours.” _

 

_ He scoffed, snorting slightly as he tries to hide his smile. “I doubt it. Have you meet my nieces and nephews?” _

 

_ The older man arches his brows, sending him a look that screamed ‘teasing’. “Have you forgotten the time you invited me over for your abuelas 70th birthday party?” _

 

_ “How could I not. I still have pictures of you with face paint on your face, when you were chasing Benji and Lily around the sitting room.” _

 

_ “What? Since when?!” he swerved his head to him, his eyes wide, “Wait….is that why Briggs kept calling me Mufasa for two weeks?” he asked and Lance grins at him smugly, mockingly puffing out his chest in pride. “I may or may have not shown him a few pictures here and there.” _

 

_ “Lance!” _

 

_ “Sorry not sorry” _

 

_ “Oh I’ll make you sorry” he nudged him playfully, making Lance almost lose his balance. And before he knew it, his arms were wrapped around his jaw and neck as he nuggies him  _ **_hard._ **

 

_ “Hey!” he yelled, trying wiggles out of his death grip. The dark hair man just laughs, laughter light and easy going, before he lets him go. He moved back to his original laid back position. Lance pouted, rubbing his injured head beside him muttering a low “meanie” under his breath, trying to hide his smile that itched to be seen. _

 

_ They sat there for a moment, enjoying the comfortable silences. It was nice. Peaceful. And that's sometime they rarely got. Of course until,  _ **_he_ ** _ decided to break it. _

 

_ “Well, back to class, let's see-” the older man looks around, his noses scrunched slightly as he gazes over the different stares slowly before smiling brightly. “Oh! Do you you know what constellation is that?” he asked, pointing up at one of the northern stars and Lance couldn’t help but groan. _

 

_ “You know, you don’t have to test me every time we come out here to stargaze right” he rolls his eyes, exaggerated, before looking back at him. The older man grins at him, his thick dark chocolate brow arches playfully. “Well, I gotta make sure you know your stuff, keep you on your toes. It's a good idea to know what stars to look for when your up there yourself, flying amongst them” he said, causing Lance to sigh. _

 

_ “I told you already that I might not even go to the Garrison let alone _ **_be_ ** _ a pilot. I already have my duties and a life here, with you guys.” _

 

_ “Lance-” he starts but pauses, taking a deep breath as he ruffles his dark raven hair absently. He rises up from his laid back position and turns his body towards Lance and looks at him intensely. _

 

_ “Look I still think you should try and at least apply for entry. It wouldn’t hurt to try. I don’t think you wanna be here for the rest of your life and don’t convince me otherwise.” he glares for a while that screamed ‘don’t even try with me buddy’ before he relents, looking up to the stars. _

 

_ “While all this action packed adventure scenario is great and all, its dangerous and we never know what day will be our last. At least it will give you a chance to spend more time with your family and give them the a piece of mind if they knew your next visit wouldn't be your last” _ __  
  


_ Lance looks down at his feet in silence. _

 

_ “Ca-” _

 

_ “I know it's been your dream to be a pilot. And what better time to try then now?” he asked, his voice sudden devoid of the sternness from before. His eyes soften, “You have your entire life still ahead of you, kiddo...You deserve to at least try.” _

 

_ He looks at him for a moment, slowly taking in just how serious he was. He was right it was dangerous and that his family deserved better but this was his life. Everything that he experienced and learned all led him here. Whether he wanted it too or not. _

 

_ But he was right, Lance had his entire life still ahead of him. The least he can do for them- and himself- is try. _

 

_ So he nodded, quietly. _

 

_ “Okay…I’ll think about it” _

 

_ He sees the man smile at him and softly reaches out to ruffle his hair, just like always until the dark and peaceful atmosphere drowns out into a flash of white, sudden brightness overwhelms him. The sudden weight of his palm fizzles away from his head and the calm and peace transformed into a bright and scorching chaos, the sound of men overtakes his surroundings. _

 

_ Bullets echoed around him, whistling through the air in a flurry as loud piercing explosions sound off beside him. Shouts of orders and screams fill his ears, the sun rays shining down heavily onto him, his dirt and sand covered forehead gleaming in sweat.  Smells of scorched leather and gunpowder and  _ **_blood_ ** _ filled the entire area, almost suffocating him with how strong it was. _

 

_ He was crouching, huddled expertly behind the toppled car, his heart banging violently against his ribcage but kept his breathes steady. His face caked with dried crusted blood and dirt, his mouth tasting the metallic taste of blood from his split lip. His arm gripped onto- _

 

_ He heard a click, causing his head to turn instinctively at the sound. He watched beside him as something small rolls beside him, its moss green metal shines against the scorching shone. _

 

_ “Get out of the way, Lance!” he heard a voice scream. Sharply, he turned to the voice and the same man from before. He was running to him, an expression of pure fear plagued his features and Lance couldn’t look away. It was like the world slowed down. The ticking got louder but he couldn’t move. _

 

_ Tick. _

 

_ “Lance!” _

 

_ Tick. _

 

**“Lance!”**

 

He opened his eyes and all he can see his white. He shoots up from his bed, panting, a slick of cold sweat drenches his forehead as he tries to catch his breath. He raises his palm against his chest, gripping his shirt as he felt his heart drummed heavily against his ribcage.

 

“Lance?” he heard a voice call his name, the same one from his dream he realized. Instinctively, he twisted his head and saw Hunk standing beside his bed, his hands fumbling with his buttons of his already half button shirt. His friend looked at him in question, his eyebrows slightly raised as he finishes up buttoning his shirt. Lance immediately relaxes at the sight, his sudden ‘nightmare adrenaline’ vanishes from his system. 

 

It was just Hunk.

 

It was just a dream.

 

He let his shoulder sag, letting out a small exhale before wiping his forearm against his sweat slick forehead, wiping away the drops of sweat that threaten to trail down his face. 

 

Of course….

 

“Come on man, get up. We need to get to the cafeteria before all the garlic knots are gone” he heard the bulkier boy move away from him and make his way across the room, grabbing his jacket. He looks over to his best friend and roommate, his back turned from his as he fiddles with the buttons of his tangy orange jacket.

 

Lance laughed as he rested his back against the wall behind him, ignoring the slight shakiness in his voice. 

 

“Okay, okay, I’m up.” 

 

_ Act natural. _

 

_ It was just a dream. _

 

_ Nothing to freak out about. _

 

_ Just act normal. _

 

Hunk turned to him, finally done buttoning up his shirt and grins at him brightly but wavering, immediately changing into a look of concern. “Dude, you okay? You look kind of tired” Hunk asked, slinging his Garrison jacket onto his shoulder, fitting his arms through the tangy orange sleeves. Lances hums into response.

 

“Yeah, just had a weird dream is all” he replied absently, gently scratching the back of his head. Groggily, he swung his feet to the side his bed and stood up, making his way to their shared closet. He didn’t bother to take of his undershirt, he didn’t want Hunk to see the soft scars that littered his body. Why did he dream about that? And now of all times. Odd, he thought. He pulled his legs through his gray dusted pants absently.

 

_ Could be some weird omen that Sam loves to rant about _ , he thought humorously, grinning slightly at the thought of it. 

 

Once he was dressed, he turned to Hunk who stood at the door, waiting for him. He was fidgeting slightly, grazing his thumbs against one another, a nervous habit Lance remembered had since he was a kid. He glanced up and noticed that Lance was ready he smiled, his smile brightening up his entire face.

 

“Ready?” 

 

Lance nodded, before giving him his signature grin. “Lets go” casually, he swung his arm over Hunk which causes the other to smile in response. As they left the room he couldn’t help but glance at his friend, his mind trailing off as his friend continued to babble about things Lance wouldn’t have a hope of understanding (he’s not engineer afterall) beside him.

 

He had know Hunk since they were kids, his parents moving to Cuba when he was only eight. He remembered when he first meet his best friend. It was just a day before he was meant to start school again, the remaining days before having to wake up early and  _ homework _ . No more free time.

 

So that's when Lance decided, on that very day, that he would go his favourite spot. A large hilltop, that swam with beautiful waves of green grass and violet and amber yellows of flowers that scattered the place, where a sole apple tree stood, gazing over the beach and the azure blue ocean that stood over the horizon. He found this place by accident, a few years back, when he decided to explore more than just the familiar beaches or ordinary streets he would roam through regularly. After hours of exploring, he found this place and instantly he fell in love.

 

It became a tradition, to just go there and sit against the large looming tree and watched as the sun descended towards the depths of the horizon, merging and melding into the constant waves of marine blue. Whenever he was bored or just needed to think he would go there.

 

And that day he decided to do the same. He snuck out of his house, walked the quieting streets and pathways, tuned in to the light mummer of chatter that still hung around, like an echo of life it once had just hours before, and slowly made his way towards his favourite spot in the entire world.

 

What he didn’t expect was someone would be there too.

 

Under the shade of the tree sat a kid he never saw before. He was big, more broad than Lance was but Lance could tell there were around the same age. He sat there alone, his knee curled tightly into his chest and his arms hung low on top of his ankles, sagging there, completely laxed, and his chin rested just a little over his knees as the boy’s whiskey brown eyes watched the scenery in front of his with a blank but calm expression.

 

Lance stood there, watching the boy, staring for moment. Who was he? He never saw him before, and Lance knows  _ everyone.  _ And how did he find this place, then again it wasn’t that hard to find but still.

 

Curious, he moved closer to see the boy and notice he was on his own.  _ Wonder why he’s here by himself, _ Lance thought. Curiosity pushed him to talked to the boy.

 

So he did the next best thing.

 

He poked him.

 

“ _ Ah! _ ”

 

The boy screamed, flailing, nearly falling over to the ground and Lance looked at him for a moment, surprised before he started to laugh. The boy looked at him, flustered, his eyes wide as Lance clutched his stomach as he continues to laugh.

 

“Sorry, Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you but that was worth it" he chuckled, trying to catch his breath. “I see your found my secret hiding place”, he said, grinning at the other boy before holding out his hand, “ The name’s Lance by the way”, he added, his grin widening. The boy looked at him in surprised, glancing between Lance and the held out hand before him. 

 

Hesitantly and rather shyly, he held out his own hand, shaking the others in a surprisingly gentle manner. “Hunk”, he heard the boy mumble. Lance smiled at him. 

 

“Nice to meet ya Hunk” 

 

They sat there, talking as the sunset over the ocean, cutting the edge of sky and sea. They laughed and joked around and got to know each other. It was fun and Lance couldn’t remember having this much fun with any other of the kids his age. Hunk was quiet and shy but after all a while he bagan warming up to him and suddenly transformed into a bright and talkative kid, rambling about his love for food and baking and his favourite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

 

Soon the sky began to darken and they were forced to back home but before he turned to leave he waved at the boy and told him that he could come to his spot anytime which caused the suddenly saddened boy to pause and brighten before waving back and leaving through the empty streets.

 

Once Lance was home, he pondered and couldn’t help but wonder if he would ever see that boy again. Who knows, maybe he really will come came to his spot. He really hoped so.

And on the first day back to school, a new student came into his class. Hunk Garrett, the boy from before.

 

And the rest was history...

 

He was so happy when Hunk told him he was going to apply for the Garrison, the strong feeling of pride and excitement drumming with him as he flung himself onto Hunk with pure joy which caused them to toppled over and they ended up falling down the hill they were sitting on, laughing loudly at it all. It was great, knowing he had his best friend with him, by his side as they both tried to achieve their dreams.

 

He can’t believe it's already been a year and a half since joining the Garrison. It still felt like a dream. This unreachable possibility that just never seemed to even  _ be  _ a possibility, at least for him. Sure he wasn’t the best student and would occasionally get yelled out by his commanding officers or  that Kogane kid was an obnoxious snob and Commander Iverson made it out of his way to make his school year a living hell.

 

But it was still just as amazing and surreal as he thought it would be.

 

He didn’t realise he spaced off until he heard Hunks voice filter beside him.

 

“Hey man, are you sure you’re okay”

 

“Dude, I'm fine. Just a bit drained. No biggy” he waved him off before dramatically swinging his arm over his friends broad shoulders. For a moment, Hunk opened his mouth like he wanted to say more but closing it again. “If you say so...” he heard Hunk mumble, before Lance tried to change the conversation. “Come on, let’s go before I die of starvation from just standing here” He grins as Hunk agrees, or at least the growling coming from his stomach hints at it. Hunk flushes in embarrassment before they both laugh as they slowly made their way to the student cafeteria.

 

It didn’t take long until they reached the cafeteria. It was crowded with other cadets, the room echoed with clatter of plates and loud chatter filled the room. Just like any ordinary day, Lance mused. They walk over to the cafeteria and gathered their trays before going all out, grabbing any food that was there. And thankfully, by the end of the selection, were just a few reading Garlic knots left. Beside him, he heard Hunk squeal slightly with delight and Lance couldn’t help but smile at his excitement.

 

Because  _ Garlic knots. _

 

And without any regrets, they gladly took a plateful of them and left. Thank god for Garlic knots.

 

“Man, you are obsessed with those things”

 

“Hey I blame you. It was you who decided to make me try out garlic knots. But theses are nothing compared to your aunt’s“ he said and Lance couldn’t help but agree. His aunt’s cooking was addictive. Though he would never let his mother or abuela know.

 

Not if he still wanted to live that is.

 

As Lance was completely away in his thought, Hunk scanned around the cafeteria before stopping, noticing something. “Oh look, theres Pidge” Hunk points outs, drawing Lance back to reality and Lance turns his gaze and, yeah, he was right. In the far side of the cafeteria, sitting alone and curled into her laptop, was the familiar sight of Pidge

 

Wonder what she’s doing, Lance thought. And yes, he knew Pidge was a girl and was hiding her identity under a false name. He knew who she really was. Katie Holt, the sister of Matthew or Matt and Samuel Holt, the leading researchers here at the Garrison until the Kerberos mission of course. He knew she was here in search for the truth about her family and how an entire team could go missing. Sure the Garrison said it was pilot error but he knows a military-style cover up when he sees one. _ (Plus Takashi Shirogane or Shiro by most, was the Garrisons best and honorary pilot, he wouldn’t just make a simple mistake that would cause pilot error. He was too good for that) _

 

He wasn’t that out of shape. Old habits die hard he guessed.

 

He grins widely, putting his game face on and can hear Hunk whisper a “Wait Lance-” but ignores it as he walked up to Pidges table, Pidge not once noticing him making her way towards her, her focus absorbed into her widely decorated computer. As she continued gazing at her computer screen, her finger expertly dancing across the keyboard with fast precision, she didn’t notice the duo walking up behind her.

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head and he smiled devilishly. In the corner of his eye, he could see Hunk noticed and before he could do anything, Lance sauntered towards Pidge, making sure she doesn’t notice him. When he reached the closest he could be without getting caught, he popped right beside her, sliding his tray gracefully onto the surface of the table and Pidge flinched in surprise.

 

“Yo Pidgeo my man, what you doing?” he rested his arm over Pidge’s shoulder and leans against her in a exaggerated motion. Pidge looks at him, startled, before glaring at him menacingly.

 

“It’s Pidge and none of your business" she said and  _ ouch _ , that one hurt.  _ Friendly as usual he sees,  _ Lance mentally sighs. Guess today was going to be the same as the others as usual.  _ Great.  _ But as he lets out another mental sigh he puts on a smug grin to the world.

 

“Aw come on. We’re teammates now and this is some great bonding moments. I'm bored and you’re my only means of entertainment” he whines out, throwing his head back in an exaggerated manner. Beside him, Hunk fidgets with his hands before asking his favourite gremlin if he could sit down. She turns her glare away from Lance before looking at Hunk and Lance notices her eyes soften for a moment before she sighs out a breath.

 

“Fine” she clips out, smacking away Lance arm from her shoulders. Lance doesn’t pay attention as Hunk sits across from the two as Pidge slowly turns back to her computer and goes back to whatever she was doing before they interrupted, but this time Lance decided to leave her or emm well _ ‘him’  _ be. 

 

He did like having fingers on his hands thank you. Besides she was probably hacking into the Garrison system like normal. 

 

Just your average day.

 

They sat eating, talking and chatting about anything to everything, small talk to the teachers and experience in the Garrison so far. It was fun, Lance thought, Calming. Even if was just Lance and Hunk doing most of the talking, Pidge only added the occasional quip or comment through the entire time, to anti-social and focus on whatever her computer was displaying to really try but Lance didn’t mind. Even if she just answered Hunk and ignored Lance which  _ ouch. _

 

Then again this wasn’t any new experience, he was used to it.

 

“Did you guys hear? Commander Iverson might make us do a team flight stimulation as part of our term exams.”

 

Lance looked up from his nearly eating lime jello and arched an eyebrow at that. “Really?” he asked, licking the back of his spoon, because a stimulation? Now that's rare.

 

Sure, not for a training pilot like himself, it was normal for a pilot trainee to have regular stimulations to test their progress every month. But they were always solo simulations but a group stimulation? This early? They must really we’re ready, he mused.

 

Or just see how well they can function as a team. And Lance knew that if that's the case, he won't have it easy.

 

…...Yeah, that was probably it.

 

“Huh, weird” he commented and Hunk nodded in agreement, “I know right” he hummed, popping a forkful of food into his mouth. Pidge still remains silent, tapping excessively against the keyboard. He shrugs dramatically, rolling his head up as he does so. “But aren’t you nervous, I mean they never do this kind of stuff before and what if this is really big. Like ‘fail and you get an automatic ‘F’ or ‘fail and you get expelled’ kind of fail?!” Hunk rambled nervously, panic setting into his voice higher than before. 

 

He raises his hand causing Hunk to close his mouth. “First off, Breathe” he started before finally resting his hand onto Hunk’s orange cladded shoulder.

 

“And second, you don’t need to worry, we’re gonna do great,  _ you _ are gonna do great. You have some of the best grades in your engineering class, so why wouldn’t you do great. And now that we have the amazing Pidgeo on our team-”

 

“Don’t call me that” she cut in, her eyes still glue to the computer screen.

 

“You don’t need to be worried. We’ll do the exam and beat it with a perfect score. And if we don't, then we’ll learn to be better and strive to should thoses examiners what we can do.”

 

Hunk looked at him with wides eyes as he spoke and blinks at him owlishly. “Wow…..you’re surprisingly good at giving pep talks” Lance smirked at him proudly as he crossed his arm and puffed out his chest. 

 

“I have to be if I'm gonna be the leader of Team Plank”

 

Finally, Pidge turned to him with her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.“Team Plank?” she repeated and Lance grins at her.

 

“Yeah, ya know, it’s like all our names formed together” he beamed in pride and Pidge just looked at him blankly.

 

“.......Plank” she repeated and he nodded. “Yup”, popping the ‘p’ loudly at the end. They looked at each other in silence until Pidge rolled her eyes and her lips curled into a scowl before once again turning her gaze back to her computer screen.

 

“There’s no way in hell I’m calling us that”

 

“Ah come on! Why not?! It’s a great team name”

 

“No”

 

“ _ Bu _ -”

 

“ _ No _ ”

 

He turned to Hunk, who was watching the entire thing in silence, sending him a look of disbelief. “Come on Hunk you agree with me on this right? My bro, mi hermano, my right hand man” he said hoping the other would agree. I mean anyone was gonna side with him it's gonna be his best friend.

 

But instead, the larger boy shrugged, raising his hand in surrender.

 

“Sorry man….but I have to agree with Pidge on this one” Lance looks at him with his mouth gaped open. “Betrayed by my best friend…..I should’ve known this day would come”

 

“Come on don’t be so dramatic, I’m still your-”

 

“Cadet McClain” a voice interrupted from behind him. Immediately he turned his gaze as a one of the commanding officers walked over to him, his steps stiff and almost robotic-like as he came closer to address the boy. Beside him he could hear, Pidge quickly but silently lower her computer, hiding the contents of what was on the screen. “There is a visitor here to see you” Lance frowned for a second. A visitor? But it was a weekday, they never let anyone visit on weekdays. And all his family were still home, having dinner at Mrs.Marchania’s - at least that what his mother told him on their weekly call. 

 

So who was visiting him?

 

He nodded to the commanding officer and rose to his feet. Pidge looked at him curiously as he walked away before giving a quick glance of goodbye to Hunk. The officer in front didn’t speak as they silently made their way to, well, wherever they were going. As they continued through the corridors of the base, Lance kept an on the officer in front of him before stealing a glance to his surroundings. It was quiet, only a few students and officers scattered around the empty hallways. The more they walked, the less he saw. Weird, he thought.

 

Finally, the officer stopped before turning to Lance, his blank expression not broken and curtly nods to him before leaving him there. Lance watches as he left him behind, turning a corner and disappearing from his sight.

 

Okay…?

 

Lance turns back to the closed door in front of him. Is he just about to go in or? He stood, contemplating whether to go into the room or just wait out here, but as time went on, he relented and decidingly, he reached out towards the door handle. Without hesitation, completely resolute, he opened the door.

 

It was an ordinary room. It was relatively small in size but big enough to hold a meeting. Gray walls stood around him, enasing the room. On the side, near the center of the room, stood a lone black table that was accompanied with three chair. And beside it stood a figure. His back faced him. An old and regularly worn leather jacket hung against his figure. His shoulder were broad, he noticed, almost as broad as Lance’s. And tall too. He was wearing worn out jeans that sculpted around his legs with ease. The figure, a man, was looking down at something, but Lance couldn’t see over the man’s shoulders. At the sound of the door, the man turned around, hiding whatever he was looking at and looked straight in his his direction. 

 

And who his saw left him gaping. There's no way…

 

This had to be another dream.

 

But he couldn’t ignore the familiar figure before him, the midnight black hair that curled slightly at the ends or the familiar slightly pulled back style of each and every hair strand while somehow still being equally messy and rugged in appearance, just like it was before.

 

But he also couldn’t ignore those same whiskey brown eyes that he saw in his dream.

 

“Holy shit,  _ Cain?” _

 

The man in question grinned.  _ “Lance!?”  _ He watched in shock as he stepped forward and pressed him into a warm hug.

 

“Miss me? Cause man did I miss you. The base hasn’t been the same without you”

 

“Man, did you get taller?!  _ Again?! _ Jesus what are they feeding you kids here. If you keep this up I might just have to name you Sasquatch from now on” he teased, ruffling his hair playfully. And just out of spit, Lance swats away his hand causing Cain to laugh, smirking in amusement.

 

Looks like nothing has changed. 

 

“Eh, Cain? Not that I’m really happy to see you but…..what are you even doing here?” he asked.

 

“What, I can't just visit one of my favorite people in the world, besides the gang and my neighbour, Ms. Ackerson of course” he raises his eyebrow, his lips curling into a wry grin before he looks up at the ceiling wistfully, “God I love her blueberry muffins.” 

 

Lance can't help but give him the look, the one the screamed ‘ not the time Cain’ or as Cain liked to call it, the quote-on-quote ‘business face’. Cain only chuckle in response and raised his hand casually in surrender before turning serious.

 

“Look I need some help and you’re the only one I can ask” he steps forward, his hands out in a begging gesture. His pleading voice causes Lance to finally relax. Lance raise and eyebrow at his words as he silently pondered. Help? What would Cain need help with to look for Lance after three years?

 

“ _ Okay _ ….what is it?” he asked. Cain turned behind him, taking out something from the inside of his jacket pocket- seriously how big was the pocket, Lance thought- to reveal a familiar sand dusted coloured envelope in his hands and puts its in front of Lance, offering him to take it.

 

And immediately, Lance recoiled, knowing  _ exactly _ what Cain was asking for. 

 

“Cain, you know I’m not-” he starts but was cut off as Cain raised his hands, silencing him.

 

“I know, I know but for old times sake? Just hear me out before saying no” he pleaded and Lance hesitated. He took a glance at the folder in front of him before his eyes drew back to his friend.

 

It couldn’t be  _ that _ bad if he just peaked at it right? It wouldn’t hurt anyone if he just listened to him right? I mean this was  _ Cain _ . The same man that wanted him out from all this. So for him to ask Lance of all people even after all this time….

 

It must be serious then.

 

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked up, his eyes blaring with a familiar determination and calmness that he developed over years of experience. “You’ve got five minutes" he said, keeping voice steady and Cain grins at him. “Knew you couldn’t say no to me” he teased and Lance rolled his eyes as he tried to hide the smile that was threatened to creep up. Cheeky Bastard.

 

Cain shook the folder, urging Lance to take and this time he didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the smooth and freshly made folder before opening to the first page. He looked down and saw a simple profile, boxes filled with names of places and short synopsis of the person's life. A person? He rose his gaze to the top corner of the page, where a picture of he person in question was pinned and froze at the face he saw.

 

He knew who that was.  _ Thats _ -

 

“His name is Takashi Shirogane. Age twenty four, born in Tokyo, Japan and attended Takehaya Senior High School until joining the Garrison at age 19. Sound familiar?” 

 

Lance nodded, not once looking away from the file in his hands, scanning through the information laid out in his hands, flipping through the first and next page quietly. “Yeah, I mean how can I not. He’s practically a celebrity around here” 

 

It was impossible not to even know who Shiro was, especially after the Kerberos mission. Even after a year since being declared dead by the Garrison and stopped the search, his name continued to swarm the corridors, stories of the beloved senior and idol, Garrison’s finest,  swarming around like wildfire. There was no way  _ not  _ to know who Shiro is.

 

Or _ was. _ ..

 

“He was the Garrisons star pupil, a pure prodigy. Good grades, excellent pilot and renowned leadership skills. All these traits leading them to recruit him for the Kerberos mission" he continued. Lance hummed, flickering through the pages with a silent contentment before he heard his friend speak up again. “Lance” he said, his time his voice held something that urged Lance to draw away from the folder in his hand to his friend in front of him.

 

“I don’t think it was pilot error.”

 

Lance looked up and meet Cains gaze. They started at one another, tension from his word still rising in the emptied room. Cain extends his hand, silently asking for the folder back and Lance complies, carefully handing it over to him. He watched as his friends grabbed the folder and placed it down on to the table beside them, flickering past a few pages before landing onto the center of the file, a small pile of photos huddled tightly in the inner folding.

 

“Precisely at 06:34, the Kerberos team was sent out of Earth’s atmosphere. At 6:42, they began to follow course. For two weeks, they would send regular updates on their location and progress, all of them showing no precedent issues. However in their 18th day, they reached their destination with the E3 system, Kerberos. The last recorde log was of them two days away from the planet itself and Shirogane stating the crews and ship conditions.”

 

“None of it’s here” Lance realised. He looked up at Cain who looked back at him grimly.

 

“Exactly”

 

He leaned against the table, crossing both his arms and legs as his eyes filled with heavy concentration.

 

“I tried to enter the file but I found out it was tampered with and all the information had been changed. The team's exact locations, the ships condition, even the constant reports on their location. Nothing was there. It was like everything I saw never existed. Which means that their-”

 

“-trying to cover up what really happened.” Lance cutted in, in a tense and grim tone. He rose up from his crouched position over the table and crossed his arms, never once looking away from the information in front of him. False information.

 

“But the real question is what their hiding?”

 

“Well that’s why I’m here. Asking you”

 

Cain looked at him, his eyes blank as he waits for Lance reaction. Lance met his gaze with full force, not uttering a single word. He knew it was leading up to this. He knew Cain too long to know that he wouldn’t come here unless he had too. 

 

Considering everything that happened...

 

Cain closed his eyes and sighed.

 

“You’re the only one I can count on. You know I wouldn’t have asked you if I had anyone else, but I don’t. All the higher ranks here probably are in on this too, so approaching them would be useless. I wish it didn't have to come to this. But from the looks of things, this is the only way.” He opened his eyes, a hint of anguish flickered in his eyes. “You’re the only one I could trust, Lance.”

 

Lance looked at his friends, earnest and pleading before forcibly turning his eyes down to the ground. He focused on the blank sheet in front of him, Shirogane’s face looking back at his own, young and innocent and brimming with determination. He can’t just reject Cain and tell him no, but also couldn’t blindly say yes, not after being away from all of…. _.that _ for so long, it just didn’t feel right.

 

Well nothing about this felt right.

 

“Can I ask,” he started, drawing his gaze back to his friend, “why are you looking into it, especially now after an entire year has gone by?” he asked. Cain sighed, curling his fingers his ebony black locks. 

 

“You know how I feel about military cover ups. Especially after Sokovia”, Lance gulped. He couldn’t help but see the flashes of memory passed in his mind at the mention of its name.  _ The stench of burning rubble and dust filling his lungs and voices screamed for help. The sound of explosions closing in- _

 

Lance shivered.

 

He definitely remembered what happened in Sokovia, even if some days he wished he didn’t. “But after I heard the news I knew something didn't fit, it was only when I saw the simulation results did I realise what" Cain explained, his eyes trained on his fingers as they gently grazed the open folder that lay on the table.

 

“And I just, I don't know, it just doesn't seem right. Like there's something else going on here, than just Garrison putting the blame on a missing kid”

 

Lance fell silent at that. He couldn’t deny what Cain was saying, because Lance couldn’t help but think the same thing. Through his life, Lance has seen and witness what it’s like when the military is like when it came to cover ups. They never did it regularly. It was a last resort. One most didn’t like. So to not only cover it up, but blame it one of the victims? Then something definitely wasn’t right.

 

He was drawn out by his dark thought as he feels an elbow nudged against his side softly. He looked up and sees Cain’s blinding smile, which helps him pull away from the progressing darkening of his mind. 

 

“Hey just think of this as returning the favour for the Dubai thing”

 

Lance froze before he whipped his head around, glaring at Cain, who wasn’t even affected by him, only making his playful smirk widen at his reaction. They never speak of Dubai.  _ Ever. _

 

Lance’s shoulder hunch forward.  _ Cain just had to remember that didn’t he. _

 

Finally, he relented and sighs, “Fine.”

 

Without warning, Cain cheered before slamming Lance into a sudden and  _ way to tight _ hug. Lance grins, snorting at his friends antics and hugs him back. “Geez” he mutters. As they finally part, he pointed his finger at him in warning, glaring dangerously at the cheering man.

 

“But this is the last favour okay? And you can't ever use Dubai again, got it?”

 

“Oh thank you, thank you,  _ thank you! _ ” Cain cheered, completely elated. Lance was squished against the man chest. But he doesn’t fight the hold but lets himself melt at the warm, familiar presence that engulfed him. Nostalgia surrounded his sense, leaving him at ease and he couldn’t help but smile at the man from his past. He snickers at the sound of Cain whooping as he bounced them around the room like a hyperactive child with a sugar high.

 

“I swear you wont regret this” he said, once he finally calmed down. “Ohhh I probably will” Lance returned, a small easy smile gracing his lips, just like  _ before _ . 

 

“Hey you know what, next time you have your break, I’m taking you to Disneyland” Lance rolls his eyes, playing along. “You said that every time I do you a favour. Which offer is this now? #44 is it?” he asked. Cain scowls and he mockingly ‘glares’ at him as he spoke up.

 

“Oh  _ har, har _ . But I mean it, I shall pledge to our lord and saviour Walt Disney and his amazing creations, especially Lion king because Lion king is a masterpiece-” Lance can’t help but roll his eyes at Cains rambles as he continues “that I,  _ Cain Andrews Mckenna, _ shall bring thee  _ Lance Charles Lur McClain-  _ and guests of his choice- to the land where childhood dreams come through….and where you can ride on fun roller coasters that make you question all your life choices that lead you there and puke your guts out _ ” _

 

Lance pulls up his hands in mock surrender, chuckling lightly. “Okay, okay I believe you….. _this time_. No need to be so dramatic. And that's coming from _me_ of all people” he said, causing Cain to chuckle and finally seemed to relax since his visit.

 

Behind them, a knocked echoed against the closed door.

 

“Sir, your time is up. We ask you both to leave the room”

 

Cain looked at the door before sagging over. “Right”, he muttered before raising his voice, “We’ll be out in a minute”

 

“Of course sir”

 

“Well” he glance over at Lance, smirking, “So much for a casual visit” 

 

Lance laughed just as Cain followed. It didn’t take them long before they calmed, stilling in the silence, but still, somehow, it wasn’t as suffocating but calm and relaxed.

 

“It was great seeing you Lance”, Cain’s eyes grew soft, “Really, I mean it. Call me if you find anything or just want to chat. I miss having your annoying presence around the base. Even Briggs misses your chatty mouth.” Cain joked, his tone light and playfully. Lance chuckled. “I’ll make sure I’ll call soon"

 

Cain nodded, seemingly satisfied and hums as he gathers the file back in the inside pocket of his jacket. “Damn right you will” he smirked and Lance chuckled, shaking his head at his friends antics. 

 

With a smile back to his friend, Lance turned back and made his way towards the doorway. Just as he was about to open to the door, Cain called out to him.

 

“Oh and Lance?” Lance turns around and meets Cains soften gaze. Something shines in his eyes, something that brought back a wave of memories from the past, the same soft smile that tinged with slight sadness or fear. For some reason Lance felt his chest tighten at the sight, he didn’t know why, but something was telling him that was the last time he would ever get to see that face but he ignored it, trying to mental shake it off as he spoke up.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“.....Be safe alright”

 

Lance smiles at him.

 

“I will”

 

And when Lance returned back to the cafeteria, Hunk smiled and waved him in greeting before asking him who came to see. Lance just smiled softly and said.

 

“Just….an old friend”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years!!
> 
> I have heard your cries of woe and have returned with a new chapter! In the new year no less (was it intentional….maybe)
> 
> Honestly I wasn't expecting such a HUGE response to this and every comment made me giddy and really happy, just thinking about it. Thank you all for the positive feedback!
> 
> So main reason why this took this long was 1) Life's a bitch and school is evil and 2) I wasn't 100% sure on what I wanted to do in this fanfic so I spent most of the time figuring what this fanfic was going to be like. I'm still not a 100% but I know most of the things i want to happen during the fanfic so PROGRESS!! 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll see ya when I see ya XD
> 
>  
> 
> Side Note:
> 
> Was anyone else kind of disappointed with the finale season? Because I sure was…
> 
> Also I made this way too long seNd heLp

It had been two weeks since Cain had visited him.

 

And it's been the worst two weeks of his life.

 

Don’t get him wrong he was happy beyond belief to see Cain again and was just genuinely grateful to his old friends. Promblemo 1 however, was a different issue entirely. The very thing Cain came to him in the first place.

 

The Kerberos mission.

 

Ever since their meeting, Lance had been none stop investigating Garrison from the inside. Or more accurately, Commander Iverson. Iverson was the main supervisor of the entire Kerberos operation yet when word got out about the missing pilots and scientists, he was the first to give up, even with his top student missing. Even an outsider would be suspicious of him. So he dedicated his time investigating the senior officer, trying to get any information Iverson had on the Kerberos project and any files on what _exactly_ happened.

 

And boy was it not easy.

 

At first he tried to sneak into Iverson office at night. He could try to sneak in, get the info and pop right out like nothing ever happened.

 

If only his life was that simple.

 

But it wasn’t.

 

Whenever he scouted the office, Iverson was inside. Night or day, he was there, working. So, now he’s sure Iverson has no life. All the meetings would happen in his office, the only time he was out of the room was when he was teaching the cadets or he is ordered to.

 

So that plan was shot. He was aware that he could try a few more time and chance his luck and maybe, _maybe_ in some crazy alternative universe, he would succeed. But he he couldn’t do it. They are cameras all through the halls and the office itself, he would get caught. Even if he could blank them out, they would know someone went in and investigate everyone. In the end, all the good it would do is rouse suspicion and he couldn’t rouse suspicion. He was a student now, there’s consequences to his actions. And he didn’t want to leave the Garrison either. He couldn’t chance it.

 

So he decided the best course of action was to bug the office and hack into the Iversons database through an outside source. Easy Solution right?

 

Nope.

 

Lance knew enough about hacking to get what he needed and cracked a few firewall before to know what to do. But the biggest cockblock was hiding his tracks afterwards.

 

If he tried to get in deeper, he would catch walls. If he continued, he would set them off and since he was using a traceable computer, his mother got him for Christmas, they would know it was him. Just to add a cherry on top of that, he wasn’t skilled enough to cover his tracks well. Sam hadn’t really taught him that at the time...or Lance just feel asleep when he did. Or both?

 

He really wished Sam was here now. He could do this with his eyes closed. Easy.

 

Except nope, he wasn't here.

 

…..

 

So his week was going great.

 

With no way of going into Iversons office and by pass cameras, guards or heck Iverson _himself_ without saying _bye bye Garrison_ , he did the next best thing.

 

He planted a bug in his office.

 

Was this very illegal, yes but was it for good of the many, maybe. Point was that he did and honestly he didn’t care. As long as they didn’t he was good. The idea was simple. All he had to do was get into Iversons office by Iverson himself and as the Commander rants and yells aggressively in his face, he would slide in the bug.

 

Turned out it wasn’t as hard as he thought.

 

Originally all he had to do what wait for a couple of minutes in class before he _somehow_ got Iversons attention _again,_ let him shout at him for a bit ad just as he looked like steam was coming out of his ears, he would slide the bug he had saved from past... _endeavours_ in between a slot in his computer.

 

Turns out life actually wanted him to succeed.

 

The succession that had Iverson ordering him and his team to the office to discuss the stimulation in the few days, discussed with each and every team. Ergo, his own.

 

And thats what happened.

 

Even now, Lance could still hear the ringing in his ears from all the yelling. But it still went better than any of his other encounters with the Commanders, so that was a plus. And Iverson only mentioned Kerberos once. Once! So that was an improvement, even if he did have to calm Pidge down in the end.

 

So that's how he got here, sitting on his dorm room desk in the dark at 3 am in the morning listening to Iverson work and rustle some papers as Lance huddled into his duvet blanket, groaning as tired and baggy eyes looked at his brightly lit screen in quiet desperation.

 

So to illiterate, his week was going great.

 

That and he was never going to do Cain a favour _ever_ again.

 

Lance groaned, planting his face into his duvet as the room filled with Hunk’s snores as he sleep soundly on the other side of the room. God, he was so tired. He glared at his computer in annoyance. What kind of crazy man stays up at 3am doing work?

 

He tapped his pen against the wooden surface of the desk, the soft tapping keeping him from falling asleep. He leaned back against his chair with a sigh.

 

Maybe he should check other personnel connected to the case, he thought. At least he could be doing something more productive than, well, _this_. But none of them has such a deeper connection to this case as Iverson does and none would have enough of a higher rank to be aware of the actual incident or that it was a cover up, his mind couldn’t help but reason. It was always the same thing.

 

_Always check the main suspect first. Because even if they aren’t the culprit, the real culprit will be migrated towards them, like a shadow._

 

Lance twiddled the tip of his pen against his tongue, dejected.

 

He just wishes he can find something soon.

 

Suddenly Iverson yelled, pulling Lance back to the present. He was on his phone, his eyebrows furrowed heavily on his forehead with his mouth shaped into a permanent scowl.

 

“Somehow that _Twirp_ is still intercepting my files”

 

Lance perked up that. He only knows one twirp in the entire Garrison. And she just happens to be on his team.

 

He watched intrigued as Iverson paced across the screen, frustrated. “No I _know_ its her. No I don’t I have proof! I don’t need it. It was her!” he said. He paced against the carpet, getting more and more aggravated by the second, which, if Lance was honest, thought wasn’t even more possible. At the rate he was going, Lance was kind of surprised that the carpet didn’t catch on fire yet..

 

“Way to go, Pidgesters” he whispered to himself, his lips twitching into a small smile. Amusement twirled inside him at Iversons genuine frustration. Lance leaned back on his seat, thinking, his eyes never trailing off the screen.

 

Maybe he should get ahead of schedule and finally confront Pidge. Ever since he started investigating all of this, he was stuck between asking for Pidges help. Afterall she knew her way around computer way better than him or anyone else. And a techno nerd is what he needs right now if he wants better information.

 

_All hail the Techno nerd_

 

“I keep telling you I can’t access it, whenever I do, Karlston’s ‘Never Gonna Give you up’ plays for two hours”

 

Lance snorted, his hand instantly covering his mouth in hopes of silencing his laughter. He glanced over to his best friends bunk and let out a small sigh of relief as he continue to snore soundfully across the room. He mumbled slightly, wriggling his shoulders before going still once again. Lance couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

 

Man he should really take a picture for blackmail material. He snickered to himself, shaking his head at the thought before deciding to draw his attention back to the screen. Even in the humour of the Commanders words Lance.

 

“Can’t access it huh” Lance muttered, resting his head against the palm of his hand. He flicked the pen up in his mouth, raising it up and down, grinding against his teeth.

 

Just what was he trying to access?

 

Lance glanced to the corner of the computer where the time was shown, curt and factual against the screen. He stared at the digits just as Iverson growled into his phone, slamming his hand against something- probably his desk, he guessed- in frustration, before returning to another tangent.

 

3:02 am.

 

Wouldn’t hurt to stay up a little longer right?

 

***

He shouldn’t have stayed up longer.

 

As Hunk and Lance slowly made there way towards their group, Lance couldn’t help help but raise his hand against his mouth as he yawned. Hunk raised his eyebrow in worry.

 

“Dude thats like the third time you’ve yawn in two minutes. You sure your okay?” he asked. Lance combed his hair, trying to wake himself up and waved him off.

 

“I’m fine. Just didn’t get much sleep”

 

Hunk tilted his head slightest. “Couldn’t sleep?” he asked and Lance nodded, a beat late, still too groggy to pay attention.

 

“Yeah, this test was stuck in my head all last night”.

 

Actually, Lance completely forgot about until he heard Iverson mention it to himself last night. I swear that men doesn’t even sleep. Maybe he is actually an outer space alien that disguised himself as a human so his people can invade earth. Lance couldn’t help but snort at the thought.

 

“I think we’re all pretty much nervous about it. Especially with Iverson supervising the entire stimulation.” Hunk added, his voice croaking slightly at the mention of the scowly Commander.

 

And wasn’t that the kicker, he thought, sullenly.

 

“Either way, you need some rest” Hunk turned to him with a soft look of concern, his eyes soften and bright. Oh no.

 

The puppy dog look.

Ever since they were kids, Hunk had this strange talent to give the worlds best puppy dog look to the point that even put puppys to shame. And it worked, everytime he would use it, be it Lance family scolding them for staying out so late or even doing anything stupid, he would just give them the look and leave them in a puddle of goo.

 

A great power that needed great responsibility...

 

But even as they grew older, Hunk somehow still retained that ability and would only use it when it came to other, mainly Lance and both their families. So whenever he was reckless or doing something stupid, Hunk would bring out the look and that alone would stop him from doing it.

 

It will always be Lance’s biggest weakness.

 

That meanie, he knows he couldn’t deal with his Puppy eyed look, he did it on purpose. Lance paused, freezing in the center of the hallway. He gulped, trying his best to swallow the imaginary lump in his throat just as a sheen of sweat began to build up on his forehead.

 

“Don’t” he croaked but Hunk leaned closer, making full eye contact and showing the full effect of _it_. His coffee brown eyes shone with such innocence and care that not even a kid could top it.

 

“Hunk, I meant it”

 

The look intensified.

 

Finally he relented.

 

“I promise I’ll get some shut after this is done okay?”

 

Suddenly, the puppy dogs disappear and was replaced with a bright beaming smile, a sense of smugness underlined in Hunk’s expression. “I hope you keep to your promise then”

 

Then Hunk looked on and Lance followed. He saw the door leading to the stimulation room in front of them, closed and slight daunting in it’s appearance. It was anything fancy, just a simple panel door that was seen all throughout the academy, but it still held a sense of appendment that none of the others had.

 

Who knew a door could get you nervous.

 

Lance glanced over to Hunk as he heard his best friend gulp, pushing down his nervousness. He doesn’t blame him though, feeling that way. Lance could feel his own sense of anxiousness began to build up, like a whisper in the back of his mind, haunting but not fully present. What was he even getting worried about, it was just a stimulation. It‘s not like he was in some near death situation or anything. He was being an idiot here.

 

But something tugged in the back of his mind, like a presence, waiting and lurking, almost as though it was waiting for something to happen, good or bad, he wasn’t sure. But he ignored, reminding himself to deal with it later, when he was alone and away from everything.

 

Might as well get it over with then…

 

He stepped in front of the door and the panel lifted up above their heads. The room itself was big, white wall cascaded across the spacious room, centred with a lone gray streak on every side. In the centre stood a large ship-like figure, painted in a dull grey. Surrounding it was a group of students, his classmates he realised. The majority were already there, standing around as they waited for the inevitable. Yet even with that, they stood strong, their head held high and shoulder straight and broad.

 

The two made their way towards the large group when the saw Pidge standing a few inches away from the centre of the group.

 

As they came closer, she finally noticed them and for a second Lance thought he saw a brief look of relief plaster her face before vanishing behind her typical scowl.

 

Social as usual, he thought.

 

Still that didn’t stop Hunk from rushing towards their small teammate and giving her an enthusiastic greeting. Lance followed behind, giving her a small wave in greeting. As Hunk continued to talk to their other teammate, Lance couldn’t help but let his thoughts drift slightly as they waited. It was weird for Iverson to be this late. Maybe he really was human and was taking nap…

 

And of course, it only took a couple of seconds for Iverson to finally make an appearance.

 

Yup, definitely not human then.

 

“Alright cadets. As you already know, you are here today to prove just how well you work with your assigned teams. Being a pilot, engineer or staff doesn’t just mean you must excel in your areas but it also means you must be able to co-operate and work with other members, especially in crucial and high-stress situation.” Iverson stepped ahead of them, marching slowly from side to side, looking and observing at every student, his eyes trained heavily on each person standing.

 

“If you pass this test, you will finally step towards the chance of becoming official candidates for this year's selection. While everyone who _doesn’t-”_ He pauses as he narrows his gaze at the onslaught of students. “-will not do so.”

 

“So don’t mess up” he glared at all the students before he turned his back away from the student and walked away, making his way towards the observation deck above.

 

Suddenly, the entire room crackled when a voice echoed through the walls. “Lance McClain, Pidge Gunderson and Hunk Garrett, you are first on the list so make your way towards the stimulated shuttle”

 

Lance felt a tug of anxiety against his heart as his classmates mumbled around them, wishing them all luck. One of his classmates even came up to him and patted the back of his shoulder. “Good luck man” he said which Lance replied with a small, ‘Thanks’ in return. He nodded to his classmate in gratitude and watched as he give him one last encouraging smile before joining back into the fray once again.

 

“Ready?” Hunk asked, glancing between the too. He looked nervous, ready to bolt out of the room at any moment but he kept his legs grounded and stares at his other teammates.

 

“Ready as I’ll ever be I guess” Pidge frowned before entering the open hatch of the ship. He glanced over at Hunk who shrugged at him, a small smile tugging at his lips before following her into the ship. He looked down to the floor, thinking. Something flashed in his mind. The smell of heated air, the sound of wind grazing against his skin. Green consumes his vision before he sees a flicker of silver against green and the glimpse of a laughing smile.

 

He closed his eyes before opening them once again.

 

“Ready as I’ll ever be huh” Lance muttered. With a small sigh he raised his gaze up and confidently stepped into the room. Sure, ready...

 

***

He wasn’t ready. He definitely wasn’t ready.

 

Sure nothing really happened yet but he was tired and drained and barely able to stop himself from drifting slightly. So yeah, Ready wasn’t exactly in his vocabulary at the moment.

 

But he played it off, acted twice as energetic and loud then he usually was and mayhem ensues, because he was a sensible pilot who liked to do sensible pranks.

 

Like annoying the hell out off Hunk.

 

“Lance can you keep this thing straight?”

 

“Relax Hunk, I’m just getting a feel for the stick. I mean, It’s not like I did this!” with that, he grinned evilly as he turned the wheel to the side causing the ship to tilt drastically.

 

“Or this” He swerved to the other side, grinning when he hears his best friend yelp loudly from behind. Hunk clutched his hands against the sides of his seats, panting, looking as if he was praying to some God to get him out of this situation..“ _Okaaaay_ , unless you want to be wipe beef stroganoff out of all the nooks and crannies in this thing you better knock it off man”

 

Before he could even laugh, he heard something from from his left and Pidge leaned further into the screen. Her glasses lit up against the screen, glossing the lenses over in a sheen of white.

 

“We’ve picked up an distress beacon”

 

“Alright, Look alive team. Pidge, track co-ordinates” he ordered.

 

“Copy”

 

The ship rattled against, jolting Lance in surprise. He looked down at the wheel. Did he just do that? Then the ship rattled once more, almost like the entire ship was shivering. Hunk whined, “Knock it off, Lance. Please”

 

“Oh this one's on you buddy. We’ve got a hydraulic stabilizer out.”

 

Hunk blinked before fumbling out his screen to closer to him, reading his own screen. His eyes slithered across the screen before they froze. There was a beat of silence when he heard a small gurgling sound from behind him.

 

Oh no, he knew that noise. He swing his gaze to his right and watched as his life long friend gow paler by the second. He tried to gulp it back but Lance could see Hunk almond skin change to lightly olive in color as he moaned, “Oh no”

 

“Oh _no._ Fix now, puke later”

 

“I lost contact. The shaking is interfering with our sensors” Pidge grunted out just as the shuttle shook violently.

 

“Come on Hunk!”

 

“It’s not responding”

 

Well this was just grea- wait was that? Lance narrowed his eyes curiously, his eyes scanning the icy plains when he saw a sheen of red glare brightly against the wave of white. It looked like it was in the center of the canopy of ice, huddled under the hood of some sort of ice cavern.

 

“Oh. Never mind guys and ga- uh guys. Thar she blows. Preparing for approach on visual”

 

“I don’t think that's advisable with our current mechanical and-” Pidge glanced back at Hunk, who continued to gag above the hood of the compartment and cringed, “- gastrointestinal issues”

 

Lance scowled. Pidge did have a point.

 

“Fine, we’ll reroute our voyage, get the engine settled and find an easier access in after we’ve linked the coms” Pidge raised her brow in unconcealed surprise. She blinked, almost childishly, completely thrown of by his agreement. It didn’t take long before she shook away her shock and giving him a teasing smirking in return.

 

“Well look at you being responsible”

 

“Ugh. I know, don’t you dare tell anyone. I have a reputation to uphold” he said, holding his head high in mock pride. Pidge scoffs, “Don’t worry the title for idiot is still yours”

 

“Hey!” he yelled, pouting, trying to hide his amusement. Before he could snark back, the shuttle jolted against, reminding him of the problem at hand.

 

“Back to Business then. Pidge, can you find a way out of this place. I don’t have a clear visual”

 

“I can’t find an opening” she yelled, her fingers typed against the keyboard at a rapid rate and the screen lit up with an array of different lights. He could hear the tone of worry in her voice.

 

“Stop worrying. This baby can get us out of here, can’t you, champ”

 

As though to rebel against him, the entire shuttle bumped and rumbled violently. He looked down at the wheel, blinking owlishly. He let out a nervous giggle as he peaked over his seat towards his team who looked at him with equal deadpan expressions.

 

“Yeah, uh, see? She was nodding.” he looked back in front of him, avoiding their gazes,“ She was nodding”

 

Behind him he could still feel the deadpan looks of his teammates and he coughed, covering his awkwardness and spoke him with a stern voice, “Pidge, hail down to them and let them know their ride is here” Pidge nodded and instantly unlocked her belt before swinging out of her seat. On her feet, she reached for the compartment above her seat. At the press of her palm, the compartment opened with a slide, revealing a radio set inside. Even for her small height, it wasn’t hard for her her to grab the radio and pull the mic an inch away from her lips.

 

“Attention, Lunar vessel-”

 

Suddenly the shuttle jolted again causing Pidge to stumble of her feet and to the ground with a startled yelp. “What are you doing? Buckle your belt. And Hunk, stop that shaking!” he yelled, tilting the ship slightly as he skims past a glacier. It was getting hard to steer and he could feel the wheel rattle in protest everytime he turned.

 

This was not how he pictured his day to be.

 

“Im try- uhhhhh” Hunk cut off into a eerie moan, catching Lances attention. Lance glanced from the reflection of his screen to see Hunk, crouched over the open hood of the gearbox. His eyes were wide open and glossy and he his hands gripped against the sides of the compartment. There was a moment of silence before moaned again, and muttered soft, “Oh no”

 

Oh crap.

 

Before Lance could even do anything, Hunk swung his head into the open gearbox and vomited louder.Lance and Pidge couldn’t help but cringe at the sound, their stomach rolling at he sound of his…... _hacking_. He hurled, whining at the loss of food before looking back up from the gearbox, his skin pale still with a hint of green on his cheeks. “Ugh”, he moaned, before looking down at the gearbox. He looked down, blinking before his eyes widened realising what he just did.

 

“Uhhh”

 

Lance sighed. Welp, their goes their gearbox.

 

“Attention, Lunar vessel, this Galaxy Garrison Rescue craft One Victor 6 3 Tango. Coming in for landing and extraction”, she paused, sending small mutters over to Lance, glaring in annoyance ,“Against crew recommendations”

 

“No time for your mutinous comments Pidge. They’re going under and we’re going in”

 

He pushed his wheel downward and the shuttle followed, diving down to the iced cover plains. “Look out for that overhang!” Pidge warned. He was going to ease her worries when Hunk, the best wing man in the world, spoke up.

 

“Don’t worry. In Lance’s first year of flight school, do you know what they called him? The Tailor, because of how he and I quote ‘thread the needle.” he said, raising his fingers as he made air quotations at the end.

 

“Tailor? Really? That’s stupid, who thought of that name.”

 

“Iverson actually”

 

”Iverson?” Pidge blinked at that. She glanced back to Lance before looking back at a sickly-looking Hunk, her eyebrows raised as she looked at him with a doubtful expression. “Really?” she asked, sounding equally as doubtful.

 

Well it was actually a rumour about Iverson nicknamed him that when actuality he was calling him a **_traitor_ ** instead. He actually remembered that day well. Iverson pulled to the side and yelled at him from outside the classroom. Why? Lance couldn’t remember, but it was probably something stupid. Iverson always had it out for Lance the second he joined the Garrison and decided to make his life a living school drama hell.

 

From what he remember though was everyone inside his classroom, watching the entire scene through the panned window beside them, listening in to the mumble discussion (or yelling match for Iversons case) with wide eyes. Somehow, out of all the conversation, the only thing they heard was a mumbled Traitor that somehow translated to the mumbled wall as ‘Tailor’

 

And so Lance the ‘Tailor’ was born.

 

That rumour was still going round?

 

He turn the wheel of the ship, turning the shuttle to the left, ignoring the others as they screamed in the process. “Come around, Come around, Come on, Come on” he whispered. But the shuttle wouldn’t respond. Suddenly the entire shuttle began to beep and the room flashed red. It was the warning for they felt the entire ship tilt, losing altitude.

 

“We lost a wing!” Pidge yelled. She gripped the side of her computer and the ship lost control, grunting at every violent swing. Ahead of them, the snowing ground came closer and closer to view, encasing the screen with a veil of white. “Oh man” he groaned and with that, the entire simulation ship jolted violently and the room turned pitch black. Everyone groaned, their ears ringing at the impact before the window lit up in bold red letters.

 

**_Simulation failed_ **

 

_Well so much for teamwork._

 

Beside him, he could hear Pidge groan and glanced over to her, watched as she stared back at him, a small snarky scowl on her lips.

 

“Nice work, Tailor”

 

At least he couldn’t get any worse.

 

Of course that was when _Commander_ Iverson opened the doorway into the fake shuttle and glared at them all menacingly, a look that promised the loss of a ear. Or well in this case, _several._

 

Okay scratch that, _now_ it can’t get any worse.

 

“Roll out donkey” Iverson grovelled out, curt and short. With that, the trio stumbled out of the shuttle, their head hung low as they stepped back into the world of the living. Where, from the looks of it, every student was watching them too.

 

Great.

 

“Lets see if we can't use this complete failure as a lesson for the rest of you students.Can anyone point out the mistakes these three so-called cadets made in the simulator?”

 

One of the students raised their hands and Iverson nodded his head, signalling the young cadet to speak.

 

“The engineer puked in the main gearbox”

 

“Yes. As everyone knows, vomit is _not-”_ Iverson glanced back at Hunk with a side eyed glare, who in turn whimpered in terror, not even daring to take his eyes of the white panned floor in fear of angering the commander more, “-an approved lubricant for engine systems. What else?”

 

“The comm spec removed his safety harness” another student explained. Lance took a chance and glanced over to the crowd and noticed it was Sarah Langren, the 5th best pilot on the course.

 

“The pilot crashed” another shouted, Camilla, was her name. And wasn’t that a stickler in the mud.

 

“Correct. And worst of all, the whole jump, they’re arguing with each other. Heck, if you’re going to be this bad individually, you’d better at least work as a team!” he yelled, drawing his attention back to the trio. “Galaxy Garrison exists to run to turn young cadets like you into the next generation of elite astro explorers, but these kinds of mental mistakes are exactly what cost the lives of the men on the Kerberos mission”

 

At the mention of the Kerberos mission, the whole room filled with silent tension and he felt Pidge beside him tense violently. He looked over to his teammate and was met with the sight of her clenching her fist and gritting her teeth in fury.

 

Oh no. Now he’d done it.

 

“That’s not true sir” she hissed. Iverson paused, halfway into another rant and stared down at the young cadet who had the audacity to talk back to him, his functional eye _eyeing_ her with contempt. “What did you say” he said, his voice screaming ‘thread carefully’. Pidge opened her mouth, ready to say more but Lance swooped in, sliding his palm on top of her mouth, silencing her curses in the process. He turned to Iverson, giving him a small smile.

 

“Sorry sir. I think he may have hit his head when he feel out of his chair. But point taken”

 

Iverson stood there as Pidge fought against the encased hand, curses muffled into one sound. He stared at the duo, his eyes narrowed in fury and Lance was so sure he was going to yell out in front of the entire class. But he didn’t. Instead, he took a step closer to Lance and loomed over him, like a predator mocking its prey. Lance straightened his back and met his gaze, which only seemed to anger the commander more.

 

“I hope I don’t need to remind you that the only reason you’re here is that the best pilot in your class had a discipline issue and flunked out.” he leaned forward to the point that Lance had to swallow his breathing, so that he wouldn’t feel it. At Iversons words, Lance’s hands clenched to his side and he tried his best not to grit his teeth. ” Don’t follow in his footsteps”

 

Suddenly he rose up and turned to the silent group behind him, watching and waiting nervously in the background, ignoring the trio once again.

 

“Next”

 

***

 

“Well that went well”

 

Hunk mumbled just as he finished closing their dorm room door, creaking in protest. Lance flopped onto his bed and gladly face planted his face in the waves of his crumpled bed sheet, groaning a content sigh at the soft fabric against his cheeks. “Man that was rough. I don’t wanna see Iversons face again or I might be permanently allergic to his scowl” he groaned. It would at least give him an excuse to never see him again.

 

At the mention of Iverson, he heard Hunk shuffles abruptly stop across the room. He could feel the guilt wafting around him, spreading across the room.

 

“I’m sorry”

 

Lance peaked through the covers sending his friend a concerned look. “Dude, it wasn’t your fault” he said. Hunk nodded at him meekly, but Lance could tell he didn’t really believe him. “I’m serious, we are all at fault. Like Iverson said, Pidge shouldn’t have got out of her seat, you shouldn’t have puked in the the gearbox and i shouldn’t have gone into the cavern without checking for a way out of it.” Lance shrugged.

 

“But even though we all screwed up, it doesn’t mean we can learn from it, right? We’ll find a way to maneuver around this and do better next time. Learn from our mistakes and all that” he said waving his hand around in a small circle before looking back at Hunk, smiling.

 

Hunk stared at him for a moment, his eyes glazed in thought before his eyes lit up. “Yeah” he mumbled, a small smile gracing his lips. Lance nodded to himself, satisfied at Hunk’s agreement. He shouldn’t lay down for too long, he still needed to observe Iverson and get more information about Kerberos. But knowing Iverson ranting about their failure for the entire night, has putting him off doing anything at the moment. Maybe he should take a break, just do something small, like have a nap or something.

 

He should probably contact Cain soon too….

 

He could feel the phone weighted against his jacket pocket, poking against the side of his ribcage. Maybe he should Cain and tell him about Pidge. If he knew about his teammate, maybe he would be more convinced in working together. Lance sighed against the crooks of his pillow. Seems like the best idea at the idea, he thought to himself.

 

“Hey, are you okay?”

 

Lance peaks from under his arm and looked at his friend, confused by the sudden question and slight hesitation in his voice. “Yeah, of course I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

 

He watched as Hunk glanced up, a flick of concern in his expression before swinging his head to the ground, shuffling at the question.

 

“Dude, you’ve been kind of….weird lately”

 

Lance had enough practice and experience to not react at his words. He knew Hunk would ask about this eventually. It was hard to keep quiet about what he was doing and how much it was affecting him, if the bags under his eyes weren’t a clear sign of that. They were roommates, it was hard to hide something without letting the other one know.

 

But even with that in mind, Lance’s heart quickened in sheer panic.

 

He waited a beat before he arched his brow, keeping up his confused facade. “Weird? Weird how?” he asked. Hunk glided across the room toward the dual wooden desk, centered beside either one's bed. “I don’t know. Just...weird. Like you’re hiding something” Hunk shrugged. _Do you mean the entire secret life I used to have but didn’t tell you about? That secret?_

 

Okay, so maybe, _maybe_ he had some major guilt issues involving his past. No surprise there. With a moment of weakness, Lance looked down, avoiding his gaze, the guilt weighing him down. He couldn’t tell him. How could he? It was all just insane.

 

He just….couldn’t.

 

“It’s okay”

 

At the sound of Hunks soft voice, Lance was pulled from his guilt and looked up, meeting Hunk soft and caring eyes, acceptance and resignation written all over his best friends face. “You don’t have to tell me. If you’re keeping it quiet then it's probably for a reason” he said, “I know you would tell me if you could, so I won’t push.”

 

Hunk smiled before turning towards his desk, searching for something. Lance didn’t say anything and smiled softly at his friend. God how he ever a best friend like that, he’ll never know.

 

Friend….

 

Suddenly, he sprung up from his bed, his eyes wide. That’s it! Hunk looked at him, flustered by the sudden change.

 

“We should sneak to Pidge’s dorm”

 

Hunk, stilled caught off guard by the sudden change in attitude, tilted his head in confusion. “What why?” Hunk asked. Lance turned towards him, waving his hands in the air wildly as he spoke.“You heard Iverson, we were terrible. So we need to bond as a team. And everyone knows in Team Bonding 101, it is necessary to hang out and have fun” he explained. The room fell silent as he waited for his best friend response. Hunk looked at him, deadpanned. “Okay, now I know you made that up” Lance rolled his eyes.“Come on, Hunk. It’ll be fun. Trust me” he said.

 

“I have learned after the Camella incident to never do that”

 

That the mention of the incident Lance flushed red.  He pointed his finger at his best friend and gave him a fake glare, “Hey that wasn’t my fault. How was I supposed to know that Dolphin floaters were such evil contraptions!” Finally, Hunk grinned at him in amusement. He shook his ruefully, huffing slyly at his friends antics. “That didn’t stop you doing it it” he said.

 

Well….yeah.

 

“Nevermind that” he waved his hands, gesturing the end of the _oh so wonderful_ discussion, “I still think we should go and find Pidge. Have some mano et mano bonding. 101 bonding time.” he explained, because yes that was also the reason he was going. You know, besides hoping to create some weird irl game alliance with the gremlin herself in hopes of finding the truth.

 

Yeah, definitely not.

 

Lance rolled from the bed, rising into a sitting position at the edge of his mattress, waiting. Hunk looked at him blankly. Blue met brown.

 

“There's nothing that I will say that will stop you is there”

 

“Nope”

 

“And there no way for me to get out of this either, is there”

 

“Nope”

 

Hunk let out another sigh. “Why am I friends with you again” he whined. Lance rose from the side of his bed, grinning proudly. “Because you are boring and need an adventure and fun in your life?” he said before pausing. “And because your my number minion that will help me take over the world” he added.

 

“Oh yeah, you promised me the rights to the Bermuda Triangle”

 

“In due time” he reassured, trying his best to not let the growing smirk claim victory.

 

There was a beat of silence before Hunk ground, raising his hands up in the air in defeated exasperation. “Fine” he said and Lance cheered. He did a small victory dancing, hooting along to the waving of his hands, looking downright stupid and goofy, evidently causing Hunk to snicker at his actions. After a few seconds, he stopped and stood up, rising to his feet. “Well, best not keep our boy waiting then!” he cheered. Lance skipped and hopped over to their dorm room door, adding a bounce in his skip the second he heard Hunk groan in misery.

 

“God I hate you”

 

“Love you too”

 

Just as he had his hand on the handle, he paused. He scuttled through his jacket pocket and looked down at his phone, the screen lit up with the time.

 

_8:59_

 

He’ll just call Cain later. Shoving his phone back into his pocket, he leaves their dorm room with a groaning Hunk at his side. “We shouldn’t be doing this.” Hunk whispered and Lance gave him a small smile in amusement as they snuck through the empty corridors, relishing in his friends exasperation. “You heard Commander Iverson. We need to bond as a team. We’re gonna grab Pidge, hit the town, loosen up, meet some nice girls-”

 

“I’m just saying this here, right now on the record. This is a bad idea.” he hissed, cutting through Lances beginning rambles. Lance looked over his shoulder and pouted.

 

“You know, for someone in a space exploration program, you don’t have much of a sense of adventure.”

 

“All of your ‘little adventures end up with me in the principal's office”

 

 _Well, true_.

 

They turned the corner and ahead of them, they were met with a large window pane, covering the majority of the wall. Inside, they could a small group of officers, higher ups, sitting down on every table, either conversing with another or doing work.

 

They slithered a little further towards the edge of the window, when he crouched down to his hands and knees.

 

“I’m not doing that”

 

“Come on Hunk, do you really want us to get caught?”

 

“Yes”

 

Lance rolled his eyes. With a small grin, he yanked Hunk down to the ground, making him stumble slightly, grunting along the way. “Fine. Fine” he mumbled, causing Lance to mentally fist bump himself. Soundlessly, they crawled under the window, low enough to blend with the ground. Thankfully, Pidges dorm room wasn’t too far away from their own. Past the restroom, window was the hallway, leading straight towards the rest of the cadet dorm rooms.

 

And Pidge’s own room.

 

As the passed the window pane, they rose up once again to their feet. Challenge one: completed. Now onto sneaking through the hallways. With a smirked plastered on his lips, Lance scuttled across the walls, tip-toeing across the corridors. Just as he was about to turn a corner, he looked back, making sure his partner in crime was still present. And there he was, standing ruefully behind him, his expression telling him that he wished otherwise. An impossible dream.

 

Lance snickered, taking cruel amusement in his best friends dejection. Hunk glared at him, his lips turning down into a cute pout.

 

“If we get caught, I’m blaming it on you”

 

Lance hummed.

 

“Duly Noted”

 

Suddenly, just as he was about to turn the corner, he heard something clunking in the distance. Footstep. He stepped back, bumping straight into Hunk in the process.  “What-” his best friend fumbled but Lance raised his finger towards his lips and shushed him.

 

“Hide” he whispered, pushing Hunk towards the bins. He glanced at the two bins in front of them and smirked. This could work. Instantly, he opened the lid of the bin and queitly jumped into it, and reached out for the lid, he placed on the ground beside him.

 

“Wait you want me to-”

 

“Would you rather be caught” he said, wiggling his eyebrows as he smirk at him, charmingly. Hunk scowled before eventually cursing under his breath as he put his foot into the empty bin.

 

The footsteps came closer and closer, signalling them of the soldiers whereabouts. After a moment, the steps suddenly stop, filling the empty hallways with an eerie silence. They could feel the soldier still there, standing in front of the two seemingly normal and _definitely-no-one-is-inside_ bins, his eyes scanning across the room for anything or anyone. The silence began to stretch until a rough, course voice spoke up.

 

“L-5 north clear”

 

With that, the soldier bagsn to move once again, away from them, causing them to let out small signs of relief.As the footstep slowly began to echo farther and farther away from them and deeper into the corridors, they jumped out of the bins. Or well he did and Hunk ended up tumbling down to the ground, yelping in the process. Lance stood there as Hunk groaned into the ground, like he was waiting for to swallow him up. Lance raised his eyebrows.

 

“You good there bud?”

 

“I’m okay”

 

Lance snorted in his hand, hoping not to blow their cover. He huffs as small sigh of laughter as just lowers himself down, stretching his hand out towards his best friend. Hunk looked at the hand before grabbing it, lifting himself of from the ground.

 

Bingo.

 

Lance beamed at the sight of Pidges dorm room door. They made it! But the elation was thrown away when they hear the door begin to open. Just as it opens, Lance immediately pushed them both out the way, hiding them behind the corner. Lance peered out and was surprised to see Pidge walking out of her room, dressed in her usual clothes, holding a large backpack on her back. She looked around for any guards or security nearby, her shoulder tense in anticipation. As soon as she saw no one was there, she sprinted down the corridor, holding the straps of her bags to prevent what was inside to shuffle.

 

“Where is sh- he going?” he stumbled, trying to recover for his close mess up. Curious, he peaked past the corner of the hallway, watching as she went further down the hallway. Was she going to Iverson office? No, that was on the other side of the Garrison. She was going somewhere different. Where was she going...

 

Behind he felt something tug at the back of his jacket, drawing his attention. He turned back and was met with Hunks look of worry, his lips tucked in between the biting crevice of his teeth nervously. “Are you sure we should follow him. Can’t we just do this another time?” he asked. Leave it to Hunk to be so kind and considerate.

 

Maybe it was a good idea to leave, maybe wait another day….

 

But when has he ever listened to a good idea.

 

“Come on Hunk. This will be a great opportunity to see what he’s up to. What he likes to do in spare time...all of that. Plus aren’t you curious too?” he asked. Hunk looked at him pouted, but never denied it. He didn’t wait for his best friend response and already made his way towards Pidges direction, following the trail of breadcrumbs she left behind.

 

It didn’t take long for them to find Pidge again, watching as she tiptoed past each corridor, turning corners left and right. If it wasn’t for the determination on her face, Lance would of thought she was lost. But she wasn’t. He watched as she turned another corner, not even bothered to check for any guards present. She’s taking this route before, he noticed, her reckless expressing experience nd routine. But where, he didn’t know.

 

That's when she stopped. She turned, peaking across the empty hallway before stumbling up a flight of stairs, hiding behind the corner of the space.

 

Why was she going up?

 

The pair looked at each, confused before gazing up at the doorway to the rooftop. Quietly, they trailed behind her and followed her up the stairways. Mna, she really was going high huh. She didn’t stop, she keeping stepping up each step, onto a new staircase before repeating the cycle. Hunk panted out gulps of breath beside him. “You never said exercise was involved” he panted out. And Lance couldn’t help but snicker, quickly stifling it in hopes that Pidge didn’t hear it.

 

Finally after so many flights of stairs, Pidge paused. She looked around, her eyes scanning across either side of her, making sure she wasn’t followed. It only took a few seconds to watch as she let out a sigh of relief. Now relaxed, she stepped forward, his hand turning the handle of the door in front of her. The door opened wide. Hunk and Lance huddled behind the handlebars, peaking over the stairwell as she stepped through the exit door.

 

They waited, second by second, minute by minute, before following after her. Slowly, they made their way up the final flight of stairs, reaching to the slightly opened doorway in front of them. Gently, Lance creaked the door open, stepping right outside onto the rooftop of the Garrison.

 

And if there was one thing he could think of was how beautiful of a night it was.

 

The entire sky was clear, the midnight veil sparkling with dotted stars across the entire sky. The cheshire moon hung near the horizon, ready to rise up higher into the sky. It was a beautiful night, Lance thought. It had been so long since he looked at a clear night sky. Months maybe, he doesn’t remember. Lance closed his eyes, taking in the moment, sighing against the mld breeze that brushed against his face. It was silent, quiet, expect the howling of the breeze, not a person in sight.

 

Speaking of people…

 

He opened his eyes and slowly scanned his eyes across the open rooftop. Lance looked down and finally the figure, sitting crossed leg onto the cold ground and her back against the world. Cluster of tech surrounded her like a mothering nest, every screen lit up brightly against the darkness of the night.

 

From the distance, Lance could notice her screen showing an ever changing wave. It was like static, spiking up randomly before easing into small pikes then spiking up again. On the side he could see a small thumbnail, filled with numbers that rearrange themselves constantly. He knew what they were. Those were radio signals, different frequency that could be picked up from the Garrison rooftop. She was tapping into something. But what? He doesn’t recognise the numbers at all. It wasn’t anywhere here on the Garrison thats for sure.

 

Curious, he began to silently walk towards his distracted teammate. He soften the impact of his feet and made sure she wouldn’t hear him as he got closer and closer to the little gremlin. She stayed gazing at her screen, her gaze never leaving the screen before she closed her eyes, concentrating on what she was hearing through her headphone.

 

Unaware of the people around her.

 

A small grin slowly made its way across his lips. Oh this is going to be fun. With a sly grin, Lance tip toed his way across the rooftop and closer and closer to the little gremlin. Hunk followed behind him, knowing full well what he was planning but never once interfering. He knew after years of friendship is that there is no way to stop Lance once he decides on something. Especially if it involves pranks.

 

It only took a few steps before he stood behind Pidge, looming over her with baited breath. He leaned forward, his hands hovering over the headphones, ready to pluck them up. He held his breath and waited.

 

3

 

2

 

1

 

“You come here to rock out?”

 

At the sound of his voice, Pidge let out a startled shriek. She flinched away from him, swinging herself away him and closer to her tech, wobbling slightly at the sudden movement. She looked up, surprised before turning her lips down into a scowl the second she recognised who had interrupted her. At their presence, he waddled slightly closer to the tech, as though hoping for them to not notice it.

 

“Oh Lance, Hunk. No, um, I’m just looking at the stars”

 

Hunk peered closer towards the tech, his eyes narrowed in fascination.”Where’d you get this stuff? Doesn’t look like Garrison tech” he asked, his gaze never leaving the cluster of tech in front of her. Pidge blinked at them before she puffed out her chest, a big, proud grin plastered on her face.

 

“I built it”

 

“You built all of this?” Hunk asked, his voice filled with pure awe as wide eyes scanned over the various machine. “Hey stop it!” Pidge swatted Hunk’s hand and turned to Lance, ignoring Hunk’s yelp in response,” With this thing, I can scan all the way to the edge of the solar system.”

 

Lance raised a brow. Okay he had to admit. That was impressive. Not even Sam could do that.

 

Speaking of which...

 

Lance hummed, casually shoving his hands in his jacket pocket, sounding impressed. He raised his lips lightly, small enough to seem more friendly and casual than his more boisterous and exaggerated grins.

 

“That right? All the way to Kerberos”

 

Pidge tensed.

 

_Hook_

 

He tilted his head as he spoke, keeping his voice light and smooth, yet not once hiding his curiosity. “You go ballistic everytime the instructors bring it up. What’s your deal?” he asked, leaning closer down to where the other two lay on the ground. He kept his gaze on Pidge and watched as every word seemed to cause her body to tense further and further, leaving her shoulders slightly raised high in protest.

 

_Line._

 

Pidge shuffled slightly, looking uncomfortable. She turned her gaze down before catching Hunk, hovering over her computer, an inch away from contact. She glared at him, “Second Warning Hunk”

 

Even at her avoidance, Lance didn’t stop. He took another step, crouching down so their closer to eye level than before. “Look Pidge, If we’re going to bond as a team, we can’t have any secrets” and wow wasn’t he the biggest hypocrite in the world for saying that.

 

Ah guilt my old friend, you’ve come to talk once again…

 

Pidge looked down, hesitation marred in her features. Her hands tapped against the dents of her trouser as she bite her lip, thinking. He waited, watching the conflicted in her mind, seep throughout her being. He needed her to take the bait, to take the first step, because he couldn’t. His mind screamed at her to tell the truth. Still, he said nothing and waited.

 

After a few seconds, Pidge sighed, slumping her shoulders down in resignation.

 

“Fine. The world as you know it is about to change”

 

_And sinker._

 

“The Kerberos mission wasn’t lost because of some malfunction or crew mistake- _STOP TOUCHING MY EQUIPMENT_ ” she began before cutting off with a shout, glaring viciously at the culprit beside her. Hunk shrunked down the ground, whimpering in his defeated. Lance lips twitched in amusement as he watched his best friend sulk on the ground, forcibly sliding himself a few feet away from the equipment.

 

Once she was sure he was far away, Pidge let out a small breath of a sigh. She slide herself closer to the equipment, turning her gaze to towards the computer beside her as she spoke.

 

“So I’ve been scanning the system and picking up alien radio chatter”

 

Aliens. She’s gotta mean unidentifiable chatter right? Hunk looked at her, mouth wide open, agape.

 

“Whoa, what! Aliens?” he shrieked. Okay so maybe real Aliens. Greeny big head Aliens.” Okay. So you're insane. Got it” he nodded. He didn’t let his confusion outway the situation. What does all of this have to do with Kereberos? Was she even telling them the truth and hiding her true intentions?

 

This is some lie then. How she even thought of  this one is beyond him.

 

Pidge narrowed her eyes at him, scowling. “I’m serious. They keep repeating one word”, as she spoke she raised her pad towards them, showing one word on the page and tapped her fingers against the word, “Voltron”

 

“And tonight, it’s going crazier than I’ve ever heard it”

 

Lance raised her brow, his interest peaked. Okay, she is telling the true, or well _might be_. He looked down, thinking. Voltron huh. Is this what Iverson was hiding. Did this have something to do with the Kerberos mission?

 

“How crazy?” he asked.

 

Just as she was about to answer, the entire Garrison blared loudly around them. A loud screech rang across the entire facility. The emergency alarm, Lance realized. He looked around, scanning the ground for anything that might of caused the warning bell to go but the darkness shadowed the entire desert, stopping him completely. Suddenly, the blaring sound crackled and a voice echoed through the onslaught of screeching.

 

_Attention students, this is not drill. We are on lockdown. Security situation Zulu Niner. Repeat: All students are to remain in barracks until further notice_

 

At the announcement, Lance looked up in surprise. Zulu niner? That's ‘ _an unidentifiable ship’._ Lance looked around, his eyes squinted as he looked around the sky, searching for any signs of a ship. A flicker or light, anything. That's when his eyes widened. Hunk gasped beside him, staring at the same sight in front of them.

 

“What’s going on? Is that a meteor?!”

 

“A very, _very_ big meteor”

 

Pidge looked down before she picked up a pair of binoculars, sitting beside her computer and raised them towards her. She looked directly at the ablazed lump in the sky and let out a large gasp. “It’s a ship!” Pidge yelled, astounded. Immediately, Lance crouched down beside Pidge and doesn’t hesitate to take the binoculars from her. He ignored her yell of protest as he peered through the lenses.

 

In the sky, he could see that it wasn’t a meteor of any kind.

 

2)

 

It was ship he never seen before.

 

“Holy shit! I can’t believe what I’m seeing. That's definitely not one of ours.” he muttered, slowly letting the binoculars fall to his side.

 

“No” she whispered. She looked up at the ship, her faced filled with an emotion he couldn’t describe. Her glasses shune against the light of the ship, flames licking against metal as it fell deeper and deeper towards the surface. ”It’s one of theirs”

 

“So wait. There really are aliens out there” Hunk shrieked, looking back at the two anxiously. They couldn’t answer back and the three watched in awe as the ship came down, crashing upon the horizon. They felt the ground shake at the impact, causing the trip to yelp at the sensation, trying their best to not tumble down to the ground, and a bright light exploded into the inbetweens of the crevices of the desert before dimming out.

 

What. The. _Hell?_

 

They stared at the landscape in front of them, his eyes never leaving the spot where they saw the ship disappear to. But at the sound of collective groans, he was pulled back to reality and turned back to his teammates. Hunk was on the ground, sitting against the curves of his knees, his back arched downward as his forehead lay against the cold floor underneath him.

 

“Everyone okay?” he asked, earning a series of collective groans. As they opened their mouths to answer, the floor beneath rattled slightly as the familiar sound of engines filled the ground beneath. They all rushed towards the edge and saw a group of land bumper, rush out of the opened gateway, racing out to the desert plains.

 

They’re going to go look for it, he realized. They’re going to find the ship and contain it.

 

They watched as the small group of bumpers drove out of the base, driving through the desert, head first towards the wreckage. They stood there, silent, the silence wanning. No one spoke as they tried to processed what happened in those several minutes of mayhem.

 

Finally, Pidge spoke.

 

“We gotta see that ship” Pidge said. And like she broke through the shock, suddenly she came alive. She sprawled out towards her tech and hastily grabbed her backpack. Quickly, she rushed as she stuffed her bag with all her equipment, making sure it was all inside and secure.

 

Once it was all inside, she sprung to her feet before rushing past, not even waiting to see if they were coming. They two stared at the girl as she sprinted across the rooftop, towards the exit before looking back to one another, blinking. Then Lance smiled. Well this was going to be interesting. “Hunk. Come on! We can’t let him go by himself!” he yelled, already making his way towards the doorway. Behind him, he heard Hunk groan.

 

“Oh. This is the worst-team building exercise ever”

 

And Lance couldn’t help but smirk at that as they left to find something they would have never expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think? Good? okay? Moderately readable? Please tell me, I love feedback! And next chapter is when it truly begins. Oh I can't wait to finish it! Till then, enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiii! I'm sorry this was so late. For the past few months I've been preparing for finishing school and had to really prioritise my life between school, my family and friends. I had to dedicate a lot of time to my art project since It as going to be what gets me into my dream course. I had just finished my exams (I think people call it finals in America and Gsce in England?), and now have alllll the time of the world to write this story, and many others that I've been DYING to write.
> 
> I had about 2/3 or so of this already written but I adamant to get it done today and so here it is!
> 
> A special thanks to Munchin_Munchkin and DreamStrike. Your comment really cheered me up through the stresses of exams XD
> 
> Anyways hope you all enjoy, and if something doesn't make sense, please tell me. I don't have a beta reader or whatever you call it so there will be mistakes.

He should have called Cain before he left.

 

If there will ever be another time his gut tells him to ring Cain McKenna than he was going to stop whatever he was doing and call the idiot. I mean sure there was no harm in it hours ago, he had time then and believe he would find more later.

 

But of course the universe loved to prove him wrong.

 

Because how would he have known that he would be travelling into the depths of space, piloting mecha sentient lions in a 10,000 year old war to save the universe. If you had told him this 24 hours before he would have laughed at you asked you what kind of mushrooms were you snorting.

 

But it was all real. This wasn’t a dream.

 

And it all started with finding Shiro. 

 

As soon as the trio left, they followed the trails of the bumpers into the depths of the desert, leading them closer and closer to where smoke floating upwards into the night sky, probably coming from the ship that crashed. Surprisingly, it didn’t take them as long to get the site like they expected.

 

What they didn’t expect was a set up base and security positioned in every place in the vicinity.

 

The trio had been looking below from the edge of a small cliff side, where they could see everything and everyone. If they had so much security than this was obviously something big. Lance looked around, peering at the soldiers that surrounded the base. 

 

Garrison uniform.

 

So they haven’t told anyone what happened yet, not even the military, he thought. Which meant they wanted to hide it from everyone, even from the government.

 

Just like they did with Kerberos.

 

“We’ll never get past those guards” Hunk muttered, a sliver of relief laced in his voice as he exhaled. Lance scowled at him, causing his friend to give an awkward smile in return before drawing his attention to the soldiers below.

 

“Yup, I guess there's nothing to do but head back to the barracks right? Right” Hunk nodded to himself. But just as he rose to his feet Lance pulled him down again, his eyes still trained on the soldiers. Hunk yelped as he fell back into the dry ground but Lance ignored it, making sure they didn’t see him.

 

Lance closed his eyes and sighed once he was sure they didn’t see anything. He glanced over his just as Hunk looked at him with a deep look of questioning betrayal. With an exaggerated roll of his eyes, he pointed down below, dropping the hint and waited.

 

_ They would have seen you idiot. _

 

Hunk followed the direction of his finger confused before his eyes lit up, his mouth forming a small ‘o’ before looking back to him, apologetic.

 

“Sorry”

 

Pidge shuffled closer to the edge, ember eyes squinting behind her potter glasses before they widened in surprise. “Wait. They set up a camera in there and I grabbed it’s feed. Look” she began to type ferociously against the keyboard for a few moments before she paused. Pidge tilted her computer towards them, showing them a full screen from one of the cameras inside.

 

And what he saw had his eye widening.

 

“Hey! What are you doing?”

 

A figure lay on a table, scientists and medical staff surrounding around him, inspecting him while others stared at screens that surrounded them, lists of information flashing by every second. From the corner was another man, tall, hidden by the shroud of shade. The figure raised his hands in an easing motion. “Calm down Shiro. We just need to keep you quarantined until we run some tests”

 

Holy shit. 

 

Holy fucking shit. 

 

Shiro was alive. Takashi Shirogane was  _ alive. _

 

Cain would be cursing a hellstorm if he was here.

 

“No way” Hunk gasped. “But how did he” he fumbled out before he cut himself off, staring owlishly at the screen, his mouth opening and closing. “You have to listen to me! They destroy worlds” Shiro grunted out, struggling against the restraints. “Aliens are coming!” the previously missing and now-not-so-missing pilot looked around, yelling across the room in hopes for someone to listen but the scientists continued to work, ignoring his words. The trio looked at the screen with wide eyes. “Is that-” Hunk choked out but Pidge cut in.

 

“Takashi Shirogane, pilot of the Kerberos crew” 

 

All three stared at the screen in silent shock. “Guess he’s not dead in space afterall” Hunk muttered under his breath and Lance couldn’t help but nod. Seems so, he thought. Pidge narrowed her eyes, gazing intently across the screen of her computer.

 

“Where's the rest of the crew?” she asked, not really expecting an answer as she leaned forward, eyes trained over the screen. Good question…

 

One Lance would like an answer too as well.

 

“Do you how long you’ve been gone?” 

 

At the sound of a figure voice, his eyes widened. That voice, he knew who it was from. Of course it was Iverson, because what Garrison secret did he not partake in, Lance thought to himself wryly.

 

Shiro looked over at Iverson, his eyes wide and wild. “I don’t know? Months? Years? Look, there's no time!” As he continued to speak, Shiro became more and more agitated by the second. “Aliens are coming here for a weapon. They’re probably on their way here now. They’ll destroy us. We have to find  _ Voltron _ ”

 

“Voltron!?” Pidge whispered, her eyes wide as she stared at the screen in surprise. Shirogane knows about Voltron? Is that the reason why he was missing for the entire year. As he pondered, Lance tried to dim the growing curiosity in him and stared solely on the screen. 

 

“Sir that a look.”

 

The scientist in question gestured towards something on Shiro’s side. Lance leaned in and he narrowed his eyes on the screen. The image crackled, losing focus . Beside the missing man was a sheen of silver, scooping from the length of his upper chest to the high thigh. Instantly, his eyes widened. 

 

He wasn’t an idiot, he’s seen a prosthetic before. 

 

“My god” Hunk breathed.”What happened to him out there,” he asked, more to the world than to the two surrounded him.  _ That's what we’d all like to know,  _ Lance thought. 

 

Pidge stared at screen silently as his hands clenched against the keyboard, shaking slightly. Then she raised her head away from the screen and towards the base in front of them, her eyes blazing with what looked like determination. 

 

“We need to get him out of there”

 

“What?!” Hunk shreeched, whipping his head away from the base and at the youngest teammate. “But thats complete suicide” Hunk whispered, ready to talk Pidge out of this. Lance didn’t say and simple stared at the girl. He knows he can’t convince her to not do this, he knows that look in her eyes well enough to see that nothing will get past her once she had made up her mind. So instead he nodded.

 

“Okay”

 

Pidge turned to him in surprise as Hunk choked on his breath in shock. Her hazel eyes stared at him, clearly not expecting his agreement. Suddenly she scowled, eyes narrowed in scepticism and raised her eyebrow high. 

 

“Okay? “ she repeated. He nodded, “Okay”

 

Pidge stared at him, as though he grew another head.

 

“You do realise that we’re going against the Garrison, a military department to rescue a man that is guarded by men that can easily hurt us, right?”

 

Lance shrugged, completely unbothered.

 

“Uh duh. Kind of got that from the whole rescue thing”

 

The duo stared at him, slightly dumbfounded. They glanced at one another, before turning their gaze back at him.

 

Pidge nodded slowly. Lance turned to Hunk, who remained silent, his wide with unhidden panic. “Hunk?” he said, waiting. Lance and Pidge watched Hunk with waited breath. Hunk looked down, hiding his face from them as his finger fidgeted frantically against the crinkle of his pants. Honestly, Lance wasn’t sure what he wanted him to say. Did he want him to say yes and help them out? Maybe be their eyes as they sneak inside or maybe to say no? So he would be safe and away from harm if they get caught. Lance was unsure.

 

For a moment, he felt the need to say that Hunk should go, get away and not get dragged into this if he can.

 

Then Hunk groaned.

 

“Ugh Fine. But let me remind you when everything goes wrong that I told you so okay?”

 

Lance grinned at his words as his eyes conveyed his gratitude. Hunk returned the smile, quietly just as Pidge straightened, drawing her focus back onto the computer.

 

“Okay then. First we gotta-”

 

Suddenly she was silenced by the sound of a large bang coming from below them.

 

And off course that was when Mullet Mania had to make an appearance.

 

In short, the watched dumbfounded as Hot Topic rushed through the temporary base, savagely making his way towards the dome Shiro was inside of. They watched as the door swung open and frantically made their way to follow him. As soon as they word deep inside the base, Keith had already had an unconscious Shiro -that was breathing and living- leaning against him. 

 

And ooooof course, the Mullet Brain didn’t remember him. Prodigies never remember the ordinary and hardworking. Asshole. You would think after a whole year of being in the same year, same course and the same classes, he would at least recognised him.

 

Can't always get what we want though. Grumbling, Lance helped Keith bring Shiro out of the base, Pidge and Hunk slowly trailing behind, keeping a watchful eye out. “So what do we do now?!” Hunk asked. Keith glanced over at him almost absently before loading Shiro on the back of his hoverbike. 

 

“We get out of here”

 

And to say that Keith was reckless driver would be an understatement.

 

He was a suicidal one with no sense of danger or sanity. But to be fair he couldn’t remember half the ride to Keiths shaggy shack due to all the screaming and death gripping from Hunks thor-like strength, circled around him, cutting his air supply for the entire journey.

 

Pidge wasn’t any better. She bound herself to the back of the seat where Shiro lay, curling her legs to the sides of it, eyes clenched shut tight. She looked just about ready to pass out if she even took a peek. 

 

So they were a wreck.

 

At least Shiro was lucky enough to stay unconscious. 

 

Afterall, waking up with 250 mph winds smacking against your skin in the middle of the night with three screaming teenagers hang on the back of a moving hoverback isn't exactly the best ‘Welcome back’ to get after being missing for so long.

 

It took them a while to reach Keith's little desert shack. He honestly how Keith could have lived there for so long, no one in a 50 foot radius, no electricity, the only thing to entertain you was the boring desert plains.

 

The second they stopped, the trio slide off the side of the hoverboard as Keith swiftly jumped off and gracefully lifted Shiro of the seat, holding him upright and not even looking at the others as he made his way into the cabin. With a few glances at one another, they decided to follow him. Not point in staying outside in the night.

 

So they waited, sitting on a ragged and torn couch, for Shiro to wake up. Pidge paced across the room as Keith leaned against the doorframe, watching absently, tapping his finger in rhythm to her steps. It only took a few hours before the lost pilot finally awoke.

 

After that, was when everything spiraled.

 

Keith showed them what he found, the markings he found in a cavern, north side of the desert plains, his story of a presence in the desert like that wasn’t at all creepy. For a moment he thought their may be another base out here, an abandoned one, maybe the militaries but Cain would have told him if there was. Afterall any information was important, no matter how trivial it would seem.

 

Still it would have explained the  _ presence  _ but if Keith really was out here this entire year then he would have already found it right now. So the only option left was ‘Voltron’, whatever the hell it was. Was it a weapon? Or some of mineral? A power source maybe? He didn’t know. All of the reasons he would think of all sounded plausible enough. He needed to know more, have something more to work with here.

 

He needed more information.

 

Turns out Shiro and Pidge were thinking the same thing.

 

And that's when he met Blue.

 

When he saw, sitting there, lifeless, like a shadowed statue looming over them. But even then, he could feel  _ something _ , a presence filling the atmosphere. Lance didn’t notice when he stepped forward, the urge to be closer to her pulled him towards her. 

 

Lance looked at the shield that surrounded her, so blue and full of energy. When he glanced closer he could see intricate designs and symbols carved into the entire sphere, like a magical shield or tome. He wanted to touch it and graze his fingers against the surface, feeling every crevice of the lines and signs jutting out.

 

So he did.

 

That's when she awoke. Burnt amber eyes began to glow, a brilliant gold filling the room as she rose up onto her feet. Tendrils of blue light danced around her, like a mist, inveiling her like a protective sheet. He looked down at them, conscious eyes bearing into their souls, watchful and curious and Lance couldn’t help but stare back.

 

He felt like he was coming  _ home. _

 

So when she opened her mouth, he didn’t hesitate to walk inside and when she urged him to sit on the pilot sit, he didn't waver in his decision.

 

The only time he had second thoughts though, when he found out about a 10,000 year old galactic war that's been going on and they were chosen to fight against the equivalent of Cat Hitler.

 

So yeah, like he said  before. He really should have called Cain before they left.

 

But meeting Space Princess was a whole new experience….

 

He knew he should have left, told Cain everything he found out and maybe even warn all military forces, Garrison included, but he couldn’t exactly walk away from all of this. They didn’t have time to go back to Earth, not when other planets needed their help. They had to act now and so they did. They accepted their roles as Paladins and aided the Princess in her quest to defeat the Galran empire.

 

God his life was a literal video game.

 

As grand as it sounds, all of them had no clue what they were doing. When they passed through that portal, none of them thought they would end up fighting in war. None of them were soldiers, far from it.

 

And then there was Allura.

 

From what he could gather, Allura held no commanding positions before she awoke. She was though strategies and ranks and the functions and role of each of those ranks, she had never partook in a battle before or commanded a small battalion.

 

Although she never acted otherwise, she was just as much as a novice as they all were. But that didn’t mean she didn’t try.

 

She would created extensive battle scenarios and trained them to the bone. She asked for advice from Coran, who was her father's previous advisor but was adamant on making her own decision, no matter what. She tried to teach them how to be soldiers as well as paladins while she herself never been a soldier. She never saw a true battle, never truly fought except on the sidelines. 

 

She wasn’t experienced, and her actions proved that more than her words.

 

Even though he didn't exactly agree with her methods, he stayed silent. I mean what else could he do, he couldn't exactly go up to her and give her "How to be a soldier 101" without revealing everything on a silver platter.   
  
So he took a more subtle root. He dropped hints and suggestions here and there about how Earth's military took on new soldier and how they were trained. Nothing but general knowledge that any civilian would have on the case. It took awhile, and god does he mean awhile, for Allura to finally pay attention to what he was saying. And even longer to start applying that to their training.    
  
But it worked. Slowly the other became better, more coordinated as a group and by each training session, Lance would ease up, making it seem as though he was getting "better".    
  
He still never told them the truth.    
  


I mean, how could he? He couldn’t just come up in casual conversation during dinner and add in a "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I'm actually I highly trained soldier,  _ surprise _ , and one of the best in the elite task force that's revered in the military, anyways who wants more goop?"

 

Yeah, even he knew that wasn't the best approach.    
  
So he never told them. He told them about his life but that, like a mark erased from his past. A clean story, true for most parts yet still hidden under omission of his words and implications of an easy life.

 

There were moments where he was ready to tell them, but everytime he tried to bring it up, something big would happen, always preventing him to go further into it. And after many half assed and hesitant attempt, he decides to take it as a sign that staying quiet was probably for the best.   
  
And as time passed on, he felt it becoming harder and harder to tell them. Everytime he would decide it was time to tell them, a formless lump filled his throat and the world became mute, the only sound coming from his quickly accelerating heartbeat, beating faster at every second, at every scenario that passed through his head. So he would let the decision go, retreating for a moment, deciding he would tell them another day, when he was ready.

 

He was never ready. The longer he put it off, the harder it became. And before he knew it, days became weeks and weeks into months. As each of them passed, the sense of guilt and anxiety only deepened in the pit of his stomach. He should have told them from the beginning, he would berate to himself, he should have told them the second this whole thing went downhill and when they found themselves in the center of a war.

 

But he didn’t. And nothing bad has happened because of that choice. He was still able to utilise his skills secretly and without the others awareness and his overconfident he portrays on a daily basis definitely benefits their perception, calling his slip ups as just a bounce of dumb luck- Pidges words, not his.

 

But if there was a time were he was forced to reveal himself to save one of them, he wouldn’t hesitate. 

 

No secret is worth the lives of his teammates. 

 

But so far, he’s found a way around, protecting the team without them truly noticing. But then again, they weren’t the most observant group he has meet. Even when he manages to slip up from time to time, they wouldn’t even bat an eye at him, probably chalking it up to a moment of extreme competence.

 

And he doesn’t know whether to be hurt, insulted or even impressed.

 

Still, it worked for his favour, he got to keep his ‘secret’, all the while still ensure their safety and the freedom to utilise his skills to the fullest. Or at least, the most he could, given the situation.

 

Off course, he knew his luck would worn out soon.

 

He just hopes it isn’t  _ too  _ soon.

 

Speaking of luck...

 

Lance stood in the center of the training room, his teammates flanking him from the sides, all dressed up in their paladin armor. 

 

Why couldn’t have been as lucky as to get out of all this  _ training. _ Would it seriously kill them to give them a lie in.

 

Recently, after the whole ‘flung through different parts of the wormhole and stuck on a random planet’ situation, Shiro had been very adamant and strict on training. For the most part, everyone agreed, seeing the benefits of a little extra training. They were Paladins afterall. 

 

But waking up at 5 every morning was too much for Lances beauty regime. I mean, he still wakes up at that time out of years of habit changing his internal alarm clock but he would prefer to lie in until it was a more reasonable time to get up. 

 

But the others weren't the same. As each day passed, they got more tired and disgruntled, shoulders sagging forward as they grumbled under their breaths, regretting even agreeing to this in the first place. 

 

Just like today. 

 

“Alright, team. We’ll start with one on one hand to hand combat before group combat okay? How does that sound?” Shiro asked.

 

Everyone nodded.

 

“Okay then, Hunk and Pidge, your going spare with each other and Lance and Keith, the same goes for you” Shiro said, his voice holding a familiar firm and resolute tone that Lance had lovingly dubbed as the ‘Leader voice’. Pidge and Hunk nodded at the Black Paladin, happy with being partnered up with one another, as Lance groaned. Great, he just loved fighting Hot Topic. He glanced over at Keith who looked equally disheartened. 

 

A fighter like him must really be struggling with getting any genuine competition, though he never seemed to truly mind if he was paired up with Hunk and Pidge. But when it comes to Lance, its like his attitude changes and the patience he has for the other two. Almost ;ike he was expecting even worse from Lance.

 

God would he love to prove him wrong, maybe knock him down his high horse a little.

 

But he can't….. 

 

But if Cain was here, things would be different. He was never the type to hid his skills but rather flaunt them excessively to the point that he would get chased by good old Briggs or dragged by the ear by Larson for missing  _ another  _ meeting, her aggressively ranting about his rank duties and the importance of meetings. 

 

But even now he was itching to show him what he got. Yeah, he bet everyone would be so caln to see him suddenly turn from novice to black ops material in one second. Definitely wouldn't be freaked out or anything. 

 

Keith sighed. 

 

“Let's get this over with” he grunted. Lance watched as Keith got in fighting stance and Lance waited a few beats before he did the same but in a more sloppy manner. “Right back at ya Hot Topic”

 

Keith scowled with his ‘neutral scowl of distaste’. Honestly, Lance was sure he only had two expressions, scowl and flat out rage. 

 

Suddenly Keith narrowed his eyes, tensing his body which signalled him that he was about to attack but Lance ignored it and pretended to stay oblivious. Keith pounced, raising his fist up high and towards his shoulder before swinging. Lance dodged with a small yelp, making it as though he was caught by surprise. 

 

Keith swung back down and raised his leg in a uppercut motion towards Lances stomach. He didn't bother to block this one- he had to limit the amount of blocks he could do to make it seem more realistic after all- and allowed Keith's knee to make contact with his stomach, immediately winding him. 

 

Ouch. Keith really doesn't hold back his punches…. or knees in this case. Lance pulled back and raised his arm, striking just a breath away from his shoulder but punching with his other hand. Keith dodged away with ease and rushed forward once again. 

 

Tornado kick. Left punch. Hammer punch from the right. Diagonal slash from the right. Left, left, right. Pause, back, right, right, left.

 

Lance could see, every pattern in his fighting style, every step he would take before he would kick and any breath he would hold before he would hit. It was easy to read him, it was almost like breathing air for him. 

 

He had dealt with much harder fighters, the more unpredictable kind. But even with the recklessness and impulsiveness Keith possesses, he only makes himself more predictable and easier to read. Like a wolf trapped in a corner, he thought. 

 

He dodged every few times and allowed himself to get hit or get tripped most of the time, wincing at every time Keith landed a punch or a kick. Man he really doesn't pull his punches, does he. Cain would have loved to see. Probably would have been laughing his ass off at the sight of seeing Lance getting owned by a novice. Maybe even Briggs would have joined in too. The two laughing it up like it was the funniest thing in the world.

 

Probably could get a few chuckles out of same if he failed bad enough.

 

Suddenly, he saw a blur of motion flash beside him and he reacted. Without warning, his body moved, swiftly dodged his head to the right before lowering himself down and quickly pulled his leg out, kicking Keith in a swifting glided, causing him to lose his footing and topple to the ground without warning. 

 

Lance blinked and looked down at his teammate who was sprawled out on the floor. Everybody stopped, looking at the two paladins as the room fell silent. 

 

“Uh….” 

 

Well….

 

…. 

 

_ Crap _

 

He glanced between his teammates as they stared back at in shocked surprise, their mouths gaping and eyes wide. They stood there, their arms lowered, completely forgetting their training to stare solefully towards him. Keith was still on the ground, looking just as stunned as the rest. 

 

Oh god, think of something you gotta think of-

 

“Holy shit” he screamed. He looked down giving the Red Paladin a wide grin, his shoulders rising high in his glee. He whipped out his arm towards him, pointing at him as he raised the other towards his face. “I just beat you!”

 

“Not as great as you thought you were huh” he squealed. The look of shock on Keith face quickly disappeared at his flainting. His wide eyes immediately narrowed, his lips curled up into an angry snarl, one of his more common angry looks. 

 

Aaaand saved. 

 

“Lucky shot” Keith growled. Lance smiled wide as he waved his hand away at his comment. “Yeah, Yeah.  _ Sure  _ it was or maybe you have gone a little lazy” he teased. 

 

Don't twist the knife. Don't twist the knife.

 

“No way. I just tripped that's all.”

 

Lance crossed his arms and puffed out his chest, ignoring Keith's words. “Hehe, you just can’t admit that I actually won using my amazing fighting skills”

 

“Skills of luck you mean” Pidge stated, folding her arms as Hunk smiled, barely able to hold in his laughter. “Come on Hunk, your suppose to be my best friend. My brother, mi hermano, mon capitan, you have betrayed the sanctity of our friendship but joining her side”

 

“Have you made her your new best friend?!” he yelled, his eyes filled with mock terror. Hunk snorted. “Yeah you’re right. We made a secret pact of friendship when you weren’t looking.”

 

“We’re going to share a house and complain about work to each others while we eat takeaway. And everything” she added.

 

“And where am I in this equation?!”

 

“In our basement, living as our free house butler”

 

“Wha- I don’t even have my own room?!”

 

“Nope” she said, popping the ‘p’ at the end. “Evil. I’m friends with evil people. Can’t you just let me have this for once?” Pidge looked at him, her face blank but he could see the twinkle of mischief and amusement in her eyes.

 

“Never”

 

“Why you little gremli-”

 

“Alright, alright” Shiro cutted in, interrupting what would have been a never ending spat of insults. He raised his hands in the air, waving them in a ‘easy there’ motion. Keith stood behind him, watching the whole thing spectacle with a frown on his face. Seriously, does that guy even smile?

 

“That’s enough you two.” he said before turning his attention to Lance. He raised his human hand and gave her a small pat against his shoulder. “Nice job Lance” Shiro praised, smiling down at the younger boy. “But I don’t think it’s a good idea to tease the enemy after grounded them. Especially one that lacks any self control” he looked at Keith pointingly, smiling, almost slyly, as he watched Keith flush in embarrassment and look down.

 

Keith opened his mouth, ready to probably spit out an insult Lance and his fighting skills when a large crackle sound echoed across the room and a familiar voice boomed from the walls.

 

“Paladins” the princess called through the speakers, voice hard and demanding, as it usual was. “You are needed in the hanger immediately.” she said, not waiting for a response, effectively cutting communication just as all the paladins- par Shiro- sighed in dismay.

 

“Ugh, another mission. This soon?” Pidge groaned, raising her head up to the ceiling in a silent plea. Lance chuckle, silent agreeing with her lack of enthusiasm. Missions never mean anything good, except balls of stress and self preservation running high.

 

And with a team as new as this with no former training.

 

Well lets just say luck is there only savior.

 

“Well Allura said it herself. ‘A Paladin answers every call’” he said, raising his voice high intimidation of the princess herself. Pidge snorted at the terrible impression and sighed. “Well we didn’t exactly had a choice being Paladins or not” she said. Which was true. It really wasn’t their choice, only Lance was picked by a Lion. They didn’t met their Lions yet and form a connection with them. They just happened to be there with at the right time, completely unaware that flying through a wormhole would lead them to be part of an intergalactic war.

 

But they were still kids.

 

Ones that haven’t and shouldn't have been prepared to partake in a war and become the figureheads in the war.

 

“Rather be in bed” Pidge mutter and Lance nodded. “Amen, but gotta do what you gotta do right?” he said shrugging and Pidge scowled. “Still doesn’t mean I have to enjoy. You’re the pilot fanatic afterall.”

 

“Really? And here I thought it was Hunk, with his iron stomach and all” he lolls his head back, earning a glare from Hunk. Pidge huffed, looking away as her lips curl slightly upwards before walking ahead. 

 

“Come on you guys have to admit that I've gotten better. I only  _ almost _ puked once this time!” he said, smiling at himself in pride. Lance couldn't help but smile back and patted his back. 

 

“That  _ is _ better than before. Good job man” he praised, earning a bright smile from Hunk. “Yeah Hunk, great job” Pidge muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the two of them.

 

Lance chuckled as he watched the two discuss with one another, chatting about what this new mission was about. Lance tuned them out and tried to ignore the anxious flutter in his gut.

 

He took a deep breath, hoping to loosen the growing tension in his body. He doesn’t know why he was reacting like this. It was probably a simple mission. Probably take down a few warships in an area. Nothing terribly dangerous. But he couldn't help but feel the weight of dread in the pit of his stomach and aching in his bones.

 

Lance sighed, smiling at his friends as the continued to talk with energy.

 

It’s just a simple mission.

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nowwwww the story can really begin! Please tell me what you thought. I love hearing peoples thoughts and feelings on this, negative and positive

**Author's Note:**

> So...yay or nay? YAS or NAH? Please tell me what you thought in the comments, comment honestly give me life.


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